Cold Flower
by Mokora
Summary: The young ninja are growing up. They face new things everyday, learning to accept, to give, to love. Hearts change, hate grows; pain evolves, darkness steals. She loves him. He denies her. He kills to live. She doesn't kill. Thus the wheel of time turns..
1. Prologue: Gone

_Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. For realz._

* * *

**COLD FLOWER**

Prologue: Gone

By Mokora

* * *

The breath caught in the peach-haired girl's throat. Nowhere. She couldn't find him.

His room was empty and dark, shadows slipping through crevices and covering every surface. Large trees outside cast angry gnarled shadows of demons across her pale face as she looked about. Her heart raced; her hands trembled. Her eyes found the source of the large crash she'd heard. Her eyes, though unbelieving, looked towards the large shattered window and stayed as her heart stopped.

Gone. He'd left.

Not again, shepleaded silently. She bolted from the room, darting down the corridor, the soles of her feet thudding loudly against the wooden-slated flooring, grazing the wall panelling as she made a sharp turn. Blood surfaced where her scrape became inflamed, and though it stung, it was just so minor and insignificant. He was gone.

Lee poked his head out of his room, with sleepy eyes, only wearing black loose-fitting pants. "Sakura?" He spoke quietly, seeing a flash of daisy-pink fly by, knowing that color solely as his one and only tenshi, Haruno Sakura.

She didn't stop.

He looked after her and she was gone in an instant, whipping down the stairs. "Sakura--! Sakura, what's wrong!" Lee hissed into the gloomy hall's newfound silence, worry hanging from his wavering tone. He threw his door open and took off after her, wondering if something had happened. It was 4:00 a.m. after all, and it really wasn't like Sakura to be thundering about the hallways. And a new-morning jog was definitely out of the question. His speed was superb, which allowed him to catch up with her rather easily, though, by the time he did, she'd already stopped.

She was now outside, the chilly night air lashing at her mercifully. She was wearing a mere sleeveless nightgown, burnt-red in color, falling about her knees. It bellowed in the thick wind, though she took no mind of the dislikable temperature. She was looking for him, but she feared he'd already gone.

Her aquatic eyes were wide, searching about madly, for just the faintest silhouette. Just the faintest sound, trail; the faintest trace of his being. Nothing. She just stood there, dumfounded. He'd gotten away. Again.

Lee stood behind her, but she was so lost in her own whirlwind of confusion, she failed to sense him there. He looked on sympathetically, wanting to run to her. He could guess at what had caused this. He probably left again, tearing her heart apart all over again.

_'That cocky, arrogant bastard.'_ He fumed within his thoughts, clenching a fist. It was always his problems. Always his dreadful past, always his well-being. And despite how many times she'd helped him, stayed beside him despite his obvious flaws, he gave nothing. Nothing in return. Just turned away, leaving her to wonder again. Leaving her to wonder about how ugly she was, how she wasn't good enough. How could someone do that? Especially to such a rose as her. Such a great person, who gave nothing but unwavering love and generosity. Lee closed his eyes tight.

And when she was all torn up after that bastard's stupid antics, what could he do? What could _he_, Thick-Brows, _possibly_ do to cheer her? She never deserved this, but she was a fool for that boy. Wrapped about him like a welded chain. Nothing could shatter it, no matter how many blows that chain took.

"Lee." Came a shaky little voice.

He'd been discovered.

He looked up instantly, seeing her eyes, glittering with tears that had yet to fall. He felt helpless. What could he do with a broken angel?

"He... He's gone... Again." She said, her bottom lip quivering as she fought to hold back the tears that had earned her the nickname 'Crybaby' so many times before. Lee half-exhaled, still holding air in his lungs as he watched one tear begin its journey downwards. God, how he hated watching her cry.

She rubbed it away quickly, casting her gaze downwards, though as soon as her hand left her cheek, another tear streamed down, making its way to her jawline. He sighed. More tears fell as she let out a grudging sob that shook her. A mistreated angel. That's what she was.

He took a few steps near her, though he stopped when she ran at him. He opened his arms and took her into an embrace, letting her sob into his bare chest. She clung to him, which felt nice, but he knew that she needed comfort and that was all. He could never give her anything more than that, because of him. He'd grown bitter towards the silent ninja over the years, seeing how little he cared for others. Of course jealousy played its part, but it was insignificant, compared to this tattered doll's heartache. Nonexistant, really.

He placed a bandaged hand on her head. "Sakura. It's cold out here. Let's go inside." He said quietly, hoping she wouldn't percieve that he was cutting her problems down in size in any way with the suggestion. She nodded and released him, finally taking a small notice to how cold it really was. He put a hand on her shoulder and walked her inside, where Kakashi waited, looking unusually serious.

Kakashi looked at Lee, expecting him to somehow understand his unspoken message. Lee did.

He led Sakura up the stairs as she hid her face. In his room, he gestured for her to sit down. She complied and hunched over, rubbing her left arm. He placed a blanket over her shoulders, and sat beside her, leaning over and resting his chin on folded hands.

"Thanks." She muttered, avoiding his eyes. "No problem at all." He replied with a weak little smile.

She hugged the blanket to herself, the same question echoing in her mind painfully. _'Why?'_

"Why...?" She asked aloud, almost inaudibly.

Lee looked over, brows raised. He quickly regained his scowl, which signified deep thought.

"I really don't know, Sakura." He said honestly, wondering what on earth that boy's problem was. He had one of the best girls on earth, her heart in his hands. And he just tossed it, like it was nothing. How could a man do something so utterly moronic? Every man needs a woman, was Lee's belief. Man is nothing without woman. And that prick had the cream of the crop, for sure, but of course that would go to waste in his case, as everything else had and would. Lee cursed himself for that last thought. He was losing his temper, which he tried not to do, and now he was making testy assumptions, which was a sign of immaturity.

"Listen..." He said after a pause. She looked over, hanging her head a bit.

"I can't do much. I can't bring him back, that's for sure, and I can't replace him. And I can't do anything to make you forget about him. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try." He said, smiling at her sadly. He could've sworn he saw a little smile flicker across her lips also, though it was gone in an instant, replaced with a sad little pout. A new wave of tears began to fall silently. "T-Thank you, Lee." She said, forcing a smile.

She truly loved Lee, as a very dear friend. He was infatuated with her, in the least, though she never saw him as more than a brotherly figure. Always there, when anything happened to her. Great, bad, unsure. He always knew just what to say, and she wondered if she would be so stable if he hadn't been there to comfort her as she looked for him, to no avail. She rested her head upon his shoulder and he couldn't help but fluster a bit. He felt that hated burning sensation in his cheeks, and so he patted her head affectionately and stood. "I need to talk to Kakashi. For just a sec." He said, pulling on a green shirt. "You'll be okay?" He asked, genuinely concerned with her being alone in her current state. She nodded, smiling sadly.

"You can sleep in here tonight, if you want. I'll be back, if you wanna talk." He gave her an encouraging wink and waved as he left the room. She sprawled out on his bed, watching the fan swirl hynotically, her thoughts scrambled and confused. _'Why?' 'Why does he do this to you, Sakura?' 'Why doesn't he care?' 'Why don't you hate him?'_ She closed her eyes, wanting Lee beside her again. She turned over, grabbing a pillow and stuffing it partly under her head and squeezing the other half tightly, her eyes closed fiercely. She wished she could just not think about anything, for once.

* * *

"Ne. Kakashi." Lee looked towards the sensei as he entered the shady main room. Kakashi didn't move at all. Lee fidgetted. 

"Wuh... Why did he leave again?" He asked hesistantly. Kakashi closed his visible eye and sighed. "He was wronged."

"You mean..."

"Yes."

"He's... here?"

"No, but Sasuke believes after this past productive year of rigorous training, it's time to win or die."

"But... Last time..."

"He's gotten much stronger, I assure you. I've seen him fight recently, and believe me, he rivals the strength of the senseis. He has much more confidence. More will."

_'Great,'_ Lee thought with a silent scoff. _'Just what that hothead needs.'_

There was a pause there while Lee hesistated. Would he dare ask? And if the answer was undesirable, could he keep that from Sakura?

But he had to know.

"...Could he win?"

The silence was uncomfortable and nervous. Lee pulled at his fingers, needing something to distract his hands while he probed dangerously.

"Maybe. If the odds are in his favor." Kakashi said, scratching his head. Lee could barely make out his senior's shape in the filtered darkness. "I don't know much about his brother. I don't know how he'll do. And I don't know when he'll return. But I knew this would happen." He stopped, now standing and stretching a bit.

"How's Sakura?" Kakashi asked, knowing how engrossed she was with the missing boy.

"She'll be alright, I hope. I'd give her a few days to mope." Lee said, laughing wryly. Kakashi nodded. He gave Lee's shoulder a swift pat and smiled beneath his face-cover. "You've all grown into such nice dramatic and hormonal teenagers." He chuckled light-heartedly. Lee sighed, hopeless, as Kakashi retreated to his downstairs room.

_'It's no time to laugh, Kakashi.'_

* * *

Sakura squeezed the tear-stained pillow to her bosom, wanting to just disappear. Suddenly, the door creaked. She lifted her head quickly and instinctively, seeing Lee entering with a little wave. "How are ya?" He asked, pulling his shirt off again, hating to sleep with it on. 

"Fine." She lied.

"You gonna sleep in here?"

"Are you gonna try anything?"

He laughed sheepishly, scratching the nape of his neck with brows tilted upwards. "No, of course not."

"Then I will." She fell back upon the pillow and attempted to sleep, but visions of him flashed upon the backs of her eyelids.

_'Sasuke... Come back soon... And be careful...'_ She pleaded in her thoughts, one last tear trailing along the bridge of her nose and plopping onto the pillow, instantly absorbed.

Then she slept.

* * *

_xoxoxoxoxo_

_Oh, how I've wanted to write this, for the longest time. I totally love Naruto, thus, I notoriously decided upon this thing here. xD Bwar._

_And concerning the pairings, so you're not confused, I plan to make this SasuSaku. No, Sakura doesn't have romantic feelings for Lee. And though I won't reveal too much, I plan on ShikaIno, NejiTen, and NaruHina. I'm also throwing some new teams in with new characters. Yeah yeah, OC alert. But please read! It'll be good! Don't avoid it because of OCs! T.T_

_Oh, and the characters in the beginning of the story are about 15. This is because it takes place after Sasuke returned from his visit with Orochimaru. Thus, they're growing up, faces all sort of stuff. And this is only but a prologue, so the first chapter will start out about a year later. Just a warning for ya! xD_

_When I finally get off my ass and decide to scan the chara sketches I did of my OCs to give you a better picture of them, I'll post them on my art site, (URL in my profile,) which is currently pretty much... freakin' empty. I haven't posted like, ANY art or fanfics. But the navigation is alright? Nope. Scratch that. That's not done either._

_o.o;; Woo. Yeah buddy._

_I plan on making this a long one, with drama, cursing, PG-13 loveness, death, angst, comedy, OCs, fluff, and lotsa LOTSA blood! xDDD Flippin' right on. And I'm aiming to keep all charas in character at all times, and making the lovey-dovey stuff realisitic. Wish me luck! x.x;;_

_Thanks for any and all reviews. x3_


	2. Chapter 1: Lapse

_Disclaimer: WTF! Naruto isn't mine! What the jeez is this crap! Dx_

* * *

**COLD FLOWER**

Chapter 1: Lapse

By Mokora

* * *

Her hair was long now, to the small of her back. Still delightfully wispy and candy-pink, but now long and flowing. She was pleasantly tanned, seeing as she'd been enjoying the pond nearby lately, taking advantage of the warm summer days. Her eyes completely absorbed the sun's angelic light, making the sea-green gems sparkle like sunkissed waves, as she bounced about, all smiles. 

It'd been about a year since he'd left. She'd forgotten, or so she said and tried to believe at times. He was gone, and all of their trials and all of her dreams were over. She smiled at everyone, smiled all the time. No one could bring her down, it seemed. But she was a fake. He never really left her thoughts, and she was reminded every night as she prayed for sleep.

Visions came. Flooded her mind, and played like old videos. She lingered on his smile, so afraid. She was so afraid she'd forget how he looked, how his smooth voice sounded against silent walls. She would hug her pillow tightly, almost painfully to herself, and make herself remember his voice, his trademark little smirk, his determined scowl. Though sometimes, the pictures and sounds wouldn't come. Or they'd blur, leaving her to scrape and claw at what she had, trying to make sense of the absence, of how he slipped away as time passed. Time became a hated thing. There was never enough time, and always too much. And it never changed. Time stayed and continued on and on, not slowing or quickening for anyone, and sometimes she wished she could stop the world from spinning, so that she could just keep those images within her. She didn't expect him to return. In fact, she doubted. He'd always been a wallflower, always breaking away whenever he could, needing nothing and no one. He'd always escaped or retreated every time someone turned away, and he seemed unhappy with the company of his 'friends'. He'd escaped successfully this time, without being seen, and so she doubted his return. He was free. Why would a broken-winged hawk, hungering for avengence, return to a crowded shelter after its predator was dead? No explanation. The bird would live free, on its own. For healing. For independence. For freedom, itself.

Thus, she was afraid.

Through all of her constant warring of the mind, though, she put up an excellent facade. Naruto was fooled, as well as Ino and Tenten. They hardly suspected she missed him so much sometimes, her heart hurt, or that she cried her self to sleep six out of seven nights. She was excellent at being extremely hypocritical, which only deterred her faith in anything even more. She felt so two-faced sometimes that she hated him sometimes. Hated him for doing this to her, for not caring. For not considering. For not looking back. For not saying goodbye.

She hated him, but her love for him was much more powerful.

Every since she was such a tiny child, she'd felt a strange magnetic attraction to the serious boy. There was something, she'd liked to believe as a dreamy little girl, new to feelings of love. There was just something about him that made her smile. And even now, as a sixteen-year-old girl, becoming a woman, he still made her smile. All her life, no other boy had interested her. Only him.

What was this obsession? There must've been a reason for this, somehow. Ino liked Sasuke for his looks and total cool towards every problematic situation, but she... She loved Sasuke much more, she swore. So much more, Ino didn't begin to compare at all. She loved Sasuke, with every ounce of love she could dedicate to someone, it was all given away. Given away as a child, even. This didn't happen to everyone, she knew, and so she liked to believe there was a reason behind it all.

* * *

Lee had suggested a game of Kakureganoheishi, or Soldier's Hideout. It involved as many teams as needed, each with three members, given a certain amount of time to set up a fortress. Sometimes these were elaborate, with large sand walls and wooden baracades. Sometimes, though, they were only but a large heaping pile of sticks and twigs, which was a trademark of Naruto's. Though they were older and should've outgrown games at their age, this game honed their skills, seeing as no team knows where the other forts exist. One member from each team, a scout, sets out on a trek, as stealthy as possible. If they find a fortress, they can retreat and choose to ambush. Or, if they're seen, the witnessed fort's team members can ambush them, and, if the scout is defeated, they then must join the enemy team. If the scout wins, that fort is out of the game and they report back. Sometimes, three-on-three battles occured, or more. It was rather fun, and each tried new strategies and attacks and practiced controlling chakra through this event. Thus, it was dubbed 'not childish'. 

More importantly, this was a solely taijutsu, or hand-to-hand combat, game. Chakra was avoided, and they all vowed not to use any deadly moves, which brought a few nervous chuckles from the group.

Lee, taking it upon himself to pick his team first, seeing as he had suggested the girl, surveyed the possible options. Ino, Shikamaru, Sakura, Choji, Kiba, Hinata, Neji, Naruto, Tenten, Shino, Temari, Kankurou. Gaara never wanted to participate, so he usually watched, upside-down, hanging beneath a shady tree.

Le cleared his throat dramatically. "I choose..." He gave a theatrical turn, squinting at the choices. "Sakura!"

"As always." Ino chortled.

Sakura bounced up besides Lee, smiling.

"And... Neji!" He snapped his fingers and Neji rose slowly, sauntering over with arms crossed. Tenten huffed. She wanted a team with Neji.

"My turn!" Ino decided, rising. "Ne! Shouldn't I get a turn at team captain now, Ino?" Shikamaru protested. She gave him a sneer and waved her hand. "Whatever. You'd probably try to defend our fort, sitting down!"

"What!"

"The answer's no. Now, who do I--"

"Ino!"

"Shut up! I'm thinking!"

"But--!"

Choji nudged the disgruntled Shikamaru a bit, gesturing for his silence. He was about to protest, but Ino pointed in his direction. "C'mon, Shikamaru. You didn't think I'd leave you off my team, didju?" She gave him a sneaky little smile, followed with a light-hearted chuckle. He rose, rather flustered, as he scratched at the back of his neck. "Choji! Get on up here!" She coaxed, with a determined gameface. He joined her, smiling smugly, and she retreated as the next team captain would take the stage.

"Hinata, why don't you be team captain this time?" Kiba asked her, smiling at the raven-haired girl with glassy pale-fuschia eyes who hung her head, so as not to be noticed. She looked up gingerly and smiled weakly, shaking her head. "Kiba... I couldn't..." She said rather quietly.

"C'mon, Hinata. You've never done it before. It's not hard, and I'll help you out if you need. I'll even letchu hold Akamaru." He gave her a big grin and she couldn't help but smile. "Hey, yeah! Hinata should be captain this time!" Naruto declared, waving a fist. She had a hard time refusing things already, but she had no choice when Naruto spoke. "A-Alright..." She sighed, and Kiba nodded.

She stood and bounded to the center daintily, giggling a bit. She was clearly embarrassed, as all eyes were on her. She wanted to choose Naruto, but that shyness that dwelled within her prevented her from doing so, so she called upon Kiba. Still one more space, she confided internally, and she hesitated. If she chose Naruto, would people laugh at her and make assumptions? She wanted him on her team though, but what would they say.

She was fidgetting now, and everyone watched without a word. She was very relieved though, when Naruto began to wave his arms frantically and point to himself, mouthing the words, 'Pick me!'

"...N-Naruto." She breathed, trying to fight the hue that crept into her cheeks.

"SWEET! You are ALL going down!" He announced obnoxiously, charging over to stand beside Kiba and Hinata.

"Yeah, yeah." Ino said, waving a dismissive hand in Naruto's direction. "Who's next?"

Temari rose, raising an arm. "I'll be captain!"

"Alright." A few assorted voices said in unison.

"Lessee... Kankurou and Shino." She gave a confident smirk as her new teammates joined her.

Tenten sighed unhappily. Always the last to be picked. But there was a clearly uneven number of players, considering Sasuke was gone, maybe forever, and Gaara refused to take part.

"Tenten..." Ino muttered, trying to calculate a solution for the unbalance. "Is it alright if one team starts off with 4, this time?" She asked, looking around at each cluster of teammates questioningly. "Hai. It's fine." Kiba decided. "Let's just play!" Naruto snapped, kicking at the dirt before him impatiently. Hinata giggled beneath a hand, her loving eyes cast on the impatient boy's messy sunlight-gold hair and his tan face, three distinguishing marks on each cheek. She felt happiness swell within her, as her daydreams began once again.

"Alright, who'll take 'er?" Ino asked forcefully, hands on hips, pushing Lee from his lead position. He didn't notice this though, as he looked about the golden forest, thin and gnarled trunks of trees protruding from the packed sand and dirt every foot or so. He was determining the best place for a fort.

Neji stepped forward a bit. "She'll be on our team." He said, no expression visible upon his pale, stony face. She squealed internally, giving him a genuine and loving smile as he directed his gaze to her. He just huffed, with that same sneer he wore so often.

"But, Lee is the cap--" Ino began.

"He doesn't mind."

She looked unsure at first, but figured they were all real teammates anyway, so it would be perfectly fine. "Alright then. Teams are set! Go build forts!" She made a wide gesture with her right arm, motioning for the teams to head out, which they did, and rather quickly too. If you were to come upon the perfect place for a fort, but another team had a fort just meters away, with more building progress than that of your team's, you were forced to find another location. First come, first serve.

Lee called his team over, seeing as he'd charged ahead for first dibs; and, with his speed, this seemed to always work out well. "Here'll be good." He said, motioning to a dark juncture, cut into the side of a thick dirt ledge that rose above their ground-level about six feet. It looked as if it'd crumble at any moment, but dark places were the best places, and this would be uniquely hidden from scouts, therefore, the fort would be safe. The teammates quickly packed dirt up, piling dark stones and scratchy branches. After finishing this task, Lee whistled loudly, signalling his fort was completed. Moments later, another whistle came, followed by another. Then the last whistle, signifying that all teams were ready.

"Neji, do you want to be scout?" Lee asked with a lowered voice, taking heed that scouts might've already been sent out. The boy with pearl-like lavender eyes gave a nod and crept out silently. Almost instantly, he'd left his teammates sight. Lee sighed and slumped down against the fort's sturdy dirt and stone wall. Sakura peeked over the edge, prepared to ambush approaching scouts.

Tenten popped her fingers' joints absently, waiting for someone to come upon their fort. Sakura perked up a bit, hearing very slight crackling leaves nearby. She ducked her head a little more, squinting her eyes. Between the distant mass of tree trunks, shooting up and overlapping one another, she saw a faint flash of navy blue and grey-white.

'Who...?' She thought for a moment. Then she stopped, as if time had stopped, her eyes wide. It couldn't be.

No! She wouldn't get her hopes up like that! She'd given up on that a long time ago, and she was supposed to be focusing on other things then. She scolded herself for being so jumpy and gullible, seeing as the former colors had faded into the mixed tan and gold of the trees it had been before.

She gave a little sigh, her heart still racing. Just watch for a scout, she said. Forget.

But then, her eyes were instantly pulled towards those very colors to the left of her, still deep within the forest. She tensed. Who was that? Then, a fleck of black passed by. She dug her nails into the fort's dirt wall. No, it couldn't be. The colors returned, and left. It was moving fast, out of the forest, seeing as they built their fort at the edge. She had to find out.

She abruptly leaped and flung her body over the fort wall, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Lee and Tenten jumped, startled by the sudden movement. "Saku--!" Lee began, but she had already taken off into the distance. He was about to follow, but Tenten stopped him.

"I think he's back." She said, with a little smile.

"What!"

"I saw the colors that she must've seen. I think he's come back."

"What're you--? You mean--?"

"She'll come back if it's a false alarm. Just let her find out for herself."

Lee gave a deep sigh of reluctance. What if it was a trick? What would they do then?

* * *

Sakura threw herself deeper and deeper into the thick mass of tangled trees, hitting her limbs on more than one occassion, thorn vines that hid among the forest floor scraping at her legs viciously. She sped forward, leaves thrashing her in the face, stones tripping her amidst her path. Onwards. 

She stopped when she'd reached the forest edge, the village visible through the trunks' crevices. Where? She looked about and searched left to right. Nowhere. Her eyes darted about, willing to accept any color besides that of the bland trees.

Then, she saw it. That trace of navy and white, with ebony, deeper into the forest's edge. She immediately followed it, treasuring this beacon as she grew closer and closer, her heart pounding madly beneath her breast. She felt the blood pulse in her ears with anticipation. Closer...

The figure came into view now. She stopped, at a complete loss for words. No words would come. There he was, back again.

"Oi. Sakura." He said, not turning to meet her dumfounded gaze as she gazed at the back of his navy open-collared shirt. She felt her arms fall to her sides, limp. He'd grown taller, his hair longer.

He turned, with a sneer, looking at her with empty eyes. She couldn't move. She was just too stunned, immobile and wide-eyed. He stretched and yawned.

"Y-You..." She mumbled. She'd never felt so many conflicting emotions at once before.

"Hn?"

"Where...?"

"A lot of places."

"But..." Her bottom lip quivered as she struggled helplessly for words. She just needed words, that made sense. Words that would bring answers. Why was it so difficult to speak?

"I've avenged my clan." He said finally, his obsidian eyes boring into her as she stuttered a bit.

"You--!"

"I've been successful in destroying the waste that destroyed my bloodline. So, I've returned."

She could say nothing. He'd actually killed him. He defeated the man that he couldn't touch only years before. At that moment, she felt a twinge of unworthiness, standing before this powerful Uchiha.

"Tell me..." He said nonchalantly, reaching into his bag, pulling out, and examing a kunai knife covered in dried blood. "Is Naruto still obnoxious?"

Sakura clenched her fists. She stepped forward as her mind went completely blank. She tore the knife from his hands. She saw now, that he'd become a murderer. He enjoyed the hunt and kill, and it showed clearly with his fascination as he studied the blood stains his brother had left unwillingly.

She threw it down, enveloped with rage. "You've... You've worked so hard!" She shouted. He looked at her with no expression, his dusty eyes reflecting hers.

"You worked so hard, but you're weak! You're weaker than anyone here! You gave yourself away to your inner demons, and now what can you do! Kill! Some valiant return!"

She turned her back to him, feeling a lump form deep within her throat, the need to release her tears building second upon second.

"You... You never even think... You never think! It's always you!" She sobbed shakily, refusing to face him.

"I thought I'd be overjoyed, if you ever came back. I thought my depression would vanish in the instant I saw you, and I'd be pulled from the ground. But I'm not. I... I can't stand you!" She spat, confusion making her head whirl with pain. Every emotion clashed like lightning.

She ran, away from him, and she didn't look back. She couldn't believe what she'd said, overwhelmed with shame. She flung herself beneath a larger tree, sobbing into her knees vigorously. She hated this. She hated always being the only one who cared. She hated being the only one who couldn't sleep at night, wondering if her beloved was still alive, or dying somewhere, left to rot.

Why? Why did he change? Why did he look so distant?

She continued to sob loudly, muffled only by her embracing arms and knees, now damp with tears. She wished she didn't love him. She wished she never had. She was so tired of this whirlwind she dwelled in, she being the only one ever wounded.

The trees swayed in the moderately-warm breeze, making soft whistling sounds. Violet and indigo splashed across the deep peach sky as twilight began to befall the village.

"Sakura." Came the familiar voice, like melted chocolate.

She turned away, wanting nothing more than to disappear. Maybe if she didn't exist, he could never hurt her. Maybe if she was never really there, everyone would be better off.

"Get up, Sakura."

"Leave!"

"Get up."

"Just leave... please..." She pleaded, feeling like such a fool. Here she was, in tears because of him again. He probably thought she was such a stupid girl, such an emotional wreck, a crybaby. He just looked at her, with those empty stone eyes.

And he left, retreating into the village.

* * *

_Alright, so, REALLY LONG EFFIN' CHAPTER. 0.0 Sorry. Didn't mean for it to be that long. x.x;;_

_And, yeah. They're in Konoha, all staying in one building for the time being. Just to clear that up._

_I tried to portray Sakura being stronger and more outspoken as an effect of her getting older and maturing a bit. She can talk back now, when Sasuke wrongs her. I think that's how Sakura would become anyway, over the years. _

_And sorry Itachi's death was portrayed so minorly. o.o I totally didn't mean for Sasuke to just come back and be like 'He's dead, man. I freakin' killed him.' But I really didn't have much of a choice here. u.u; So sorry about that. _

_And, since I feel obliged to release a few more little hints, yes, Gaara will have a bigger role in this fanfic, and he also has a pairing of his own. Concerning Lee, well, I don't know. He might have someone. xD_

_Now for reviews!_

_**Xoni Newcomer** - Thanks so much! xD I wanted to start off with Lee's serious side, solely because this is a mostly serious story. If I had made him so pleasantly goofy, (xD,) the chapter wouldn't have the right mood that I was trying to create. So yeah, he'll be funnier in chapters to come. x3 And yes, all relationships will start out very slight. There are indeed hints in this chapter between SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaIno, AND NaruHina. xD Got 'em all in there. They'll gradually grow as the story unfolds, so, I look foreward to writing all of it. o.o Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	3. Chapter 2: Confessions

_Disclaimer: English: Naruto isn't mine. Leet: N4ru70 15n'7 m1n3._

* * *

**COLD FLOWER**

Chapter 2: Confessions

By Mokora

* * *

Blurry.

Her senses began to react slowly, her memories flooding back, the room nausieatingly still.

She was awake.

Her eyelashes fluttered a bit as dazzling emerald irises looked about like a curious child's would. She was in her room. She recognized the baby-pink floral-patterned curtains, the creamy walls, the slick white-wood flooring. The bed she woke in was springy also, she tested, remembering how startled she'd been the first night in this room. She'd mistaken the bed for more of a squishy material and discovered the coiling springs reluctantly when she'd leaped upon it, promptly flung off with considerable force. Her wall collision was rewarded a significant welt atop her head that she'd prodded gingerly and winced. She sighed, still gazing about curiously, thankful no one had witnessed her 'feat' of humiliation that night. She was amused by the memory, though, baring a well-rounded sense of humor, and she decided that yes, this was definitely her room.

But how did she get there?

She strained slightly to remember where her memories of the night before had ended. Then she froze; overwhelmed by that sickening feeling one would get when remembering something that made your day significantly worse, another worry to throw in the box.

He was back.

Was it all a dream? No, it was too real. She remembered the chill of the night air, the sting of his sharp voice, the soft and seductive undertone his words still bared, flowing like molten sugar, just as before. She was completely torn, seeing as a large part of her wanted to dance about the silent room, joyous that her prince had returned and was undoubtedly sexier than ever. But another significant piece of her wanted to forget him completely, and, though it hurt, it was true. Why? Because it would always hurt.

Seeing as she'd matured quite a lot since she was just a girl of twelve, she'd since then made a realization. Sasuke brought pain. There was no way she could love him and be ridden of heartache and confusion. Because he needed no one. Even now that he'd returned, he needed nothing besides his dear self, which could suffice. Maybe. If he played his cards right, maybe his life would end with no one.

But what a sad fate, she'd sympathized. It didn't have to be that way.

Time.

Time would tell all. She was generally rather optomisitic, and even though every sliver of hope she'd put forward he'd promtly shot down in flames, it recovered and burned still. She'd grown to where she sort of enjoyed his insults and rejection, in a warped sort of way. After all, it was the _only_ way he acknowledged her being at all, really. And even though it was foolish, she treasured his sneer upon her every time. She wished he'd scold her more, just so his melodic words would be directed at her, and only her. It was the only way she'd been successful at tricking herself; tricked into feeling special. Pathetic, she knew.

Light seeped into the room from the startling sun's late-morning rays. Her curtains filtered a childish glow onto the sleek floor, gold and peach dancing across the opposite wall, bare of everything but a photo of her and all of her friends she'd hung just the other day. She decided it was time to get up, thus she rose, with some difficulty, stretching for a moment as the need to yawn became too much. She sucked in the warm aromatic air and slung her legs over the side of the bed, still in one of her daily uniforms, which conveniently all looked the same. She touched her toes to the cold floor gingerly, stood, and swung her arms a bit.

She fumbled to the dresser, pulling out a little black hairbrush and running it through her long bubblegum tresses, tying the Konoha ninja band about her head, neatly behind protruding bangs and petite little ears. She offered a tiny smile in the mirror and sighed. She'd never really thought of herself as pretty. She was thoroughly average when compared to Ino, who was utterly gorgeous. She envied her, and she'd always felt shadowed by Ino's unfathomable beauty. Such a lucky girl she was.

She made her way to the door and crossed the hall, rubbing at her right eye lazily. She rounded the corner, seeing Lee at the bottom of the stairs. "Ne, Lee." She called mildly, giving a little smile.

He looked up and looked her over a moment, determining whether or not she was alright. Seeing her smile, though small, he decided she seemed fine. In the furthest part of his mind he also wondered who else could look so beautiful after just waking up.

"Sakura!" He chimed, grinning. "You're finally awake! It's already eleven!"

"Really? That late?"

"Yeah. I guess you were really exhausted."

She made her way down the stairs and approached Lee, still rubbing at her sleepy eyes.

"We wondered where you'd gone after half an hour passed, during the game yesterday. We told the others we'd hafta continue later, because you'd vanished. We looked everywhere for you, until Ino discovered you asleep against a tree at the far edge of the woods." He informed, with a worried expression.

_'So that's what happened,'_ She voiced internally. _'I fell asleep after he walked away.'_

He.

A question struck her suddenly, and, without thinking, she asked.

"Where is he?" Her voice was suddenly much more sober.

Lee looked puzzled for but an instant and then pointed around a corner nearby. "His room, number 112. Ino went to see him earlier and offered to take him for breakfast, but he wouldn't. Said he didn't need it. She looked pretty discouraged." Lee noted, trailing off a bit and continuing to ramble onward within his own thoughts.

Sakura nodded a bit and passed him without a second thought, rounding the corner directed by Lee. He watched as she receded, and then disappeared behind the seperating wall, sighing. She loved him so much.

* * *

She approached his door, hesitant. She shot a quick glance to the bottom of it, seeing no light peeking from beneath. This amused her slightly. Typical that he'd sit in a room, reclusive and brooding, in of course, complete darkness.

She reached forward to knock, but hesitated again, her hand retreating to the comfort of the other one, which pulled at its fingers. A feeling of genuine unease rested upon her heavy, troubled heart. She turned her back to the dreaded door, feeling all courage sucked from her in one swift breeze. She couldn't do it. She couldn't face him again, after her harsh words the night before. After what he'd become.

She felt that same lump form within the depths of her throat and she cursed it. Always crying. Why did she cry so much? Was she really so childish as to cry whenever she didn't know what to do?

"Come in."

She jumped, almost tripping and crashing to the hardwood floor below. Her thoughts were promptly torn to shreds, the interruption significantly more important. His voice sent spiraling chills down her spine, and she turned to the door again, shaken. She swallowed nervously, reaching for the doorknob, turning it slowly. The door creaked a bit as she pushed it open. Darkness immediately clashed with the light that ricochetted from the hall and she entered his room meekly. Once in, she closed the door, without haste, and took a tiny step forward.

Silence.

She saw him there, assuming his usual thinking position: his chin rested upon folded hands, elbows placed atop knees. He was amazing, she noted, seeing his face illuminated only by the light that managed to escape the dark cascading curtains before his one tiny window. It brought out his beautifully masculine features. His long, noble nose, his set cheek bones, his pale, sleek skin, his deep, endless black eyes with pupils that bled into twin irises, merging to form two complete obsidian stones for each side of his angelic face. His hair was thick and glossy, and she'd always dreamed about tangling her fingers through the inky mass. He was truly a sight, and it made her weak, seeing such an unreachable creature before her. It was like dangling a slab of meat in front of a starving dog. It was cruel and unfair.

She shifted, nausieated by the nervous atmosphere. She felt his eyes upon her and her flesh burned beneath his withering gaze. He was watching her. She was suddenly rather self-conscious.

"Do you need something?" He asked sharply, yet roughly, not intending to sound rude or dismissive. After all, he hadn't seen his comrade in quite a long time. His voice was thick and raspy, and Sakura had always found it attractive. She'd once wondered if he might have a considerably good singing voice.

"N-No, not really." She squeaked, taking a little step back. "I'll leave." She forced an awkward and lying smile, reaching behind to feel for the doorknob. She hated when he always assumed she needed something. She never needed anything from him but his prescence. What would he say to that?

But she just watched him for a moment with crestfallen eyes and turned to the door.

He noticed this, and assumed she felt unwelcome. But he needed her thoughts. He needed her to talk to him sincerely.

There was a pause as Sakura turned the knob, reluctantly willing to leave her prince in peace. Peace without her.

But he wouldn't have that. Not yet.

"I had second thoughts." He hissed, obviously ashamed. She stopped, and turned her head sharply. She looked at at his ominous silhouette, bewildered. His words pizzled her. What second thoughts? She retreated from the door and stepped toward him, hugging her arms to her middle. She didn't understand.

"I had second thoughts about killing him." He began again, averting his gaze to the ground. "It was almost as if, after all these years, I didn't have it in me. As if I couldn't slay the one man who took my life from me, a long time ago. My _real_ life."

Oh. So that was it.

He'd had second thoughts? Sakura's expression became troubled, still confused, but more understanding nonetheless.

"I can't boast." He explained, hanging his head a bit. "I have no room to boast. I ended up taking his life by accident." He confessed, a wistful smoke stirring about in his eyes.

She looked at him wide-eyed, genuinely troubled. Her beloved was obviously having a hard time handling the weight of guilt, and, because he was unhappy, so was she. She wished she could help somehow, but she couldn't help but wonder why he was telling _her_ all this. He'd never attempted to speak to her like this before.

"I felt pleasure though, seeing him dying upon the ground. Though it was an accident, it was still revenge, and it felt liberating. But he didn't say a word. And after he died, I..." He faltered, giving her testy glance, which she managed to catch through the blackness and softened her gaze. It was a comfort thing, urging him onwards.

_'You can tell me.'_ She thought affectionately, still twisting her hands about nervously. _'I'll understand.'_

He heaved a deep sigh. This was difficult, admitting his problems. But, who else could he seek? Kakashi? Way out of the question. Naruto? His mind rewarded him with a definite 'Hell no.' to that. But Sakura...

"I felt guilty. I still do."

She hesitated, choosing her words carefully before speaking. This was the first time he'd ever talked to her so seriously, and she definitely _wasn't_ going to ruin it.

"That's normal." She said quietly, her sad eyes following her fidgetty fingers at play.

"But why? Why would I feel guilt after I'd worked for so long? It makes no sense." He hissed acidically. He avoided her eyes more now, turning his head away from her ever so slightly.

"You said I was weak."

"I... I didn't mean that. I was upset."

"Did you?"

"N-No--"

"You're right. I am. Killing my brother has made me weaker." He stated flatly, with obvious reluctance.

This was definitely not like Sasuke. She struggled with a loss of words and took a deep breath. He was a complicated person, but she swore that she could love every little complex detail he harbored. She sweared she could love everything about him, every flaw.

"No, you're not." She snapped, mildly startling him, though it went unnoticable. "You're so much stronger than anyone here! Naruto and I can't compare, and you work harder, with more determination. You always end up saving us when we're in trouble. Do you know why?" Her voice was soft and encouraging.

There was a pause of complete silence, and she gave a sheepish little shrug.

"Just because you can. Because you're strong."

Her defending comment stirred him. It was just like her to try her hardest to make him feel as though he were the greatest man alive. He thrived on praise, that was true, but she... He had a hard time believing her compliments, especially after he'd witnessed what a murderous demon he'd become. He'd become a tool. He hated himself and how easily he'd been fooled, and sometimes, he just wished it would end. He wished at times that his life would just escape him, so that someone else would be given a chance in his shoes, and maybe they'd do better. Maybe they'd find happiness.

He felt her eyes upon him. He didn't move.

"I must improve."

"I'll help in any way I can." She offered, feeling her cheeks flush.

She felt a warm sensation within her heart and she felt the longing to hold him, while he sat there, across the room. He willingly isolated himself, sure, but she wondered if he honestly needed the comfort of others. She doubted before, but he'd confided in her this time. She picture her arms about him tightly, laying across the bed, unmoving for hours. Her heart glowed.

Suddenly, Tenten's voice rang out, muffled by the door. "Sakura! Come 'ere!"

Sakura was ripped from her dreams and thrown back into bitter reality rather violently, flustered. "Uh, I gotta go. I'll see you... later?" She asked openly, turning towards the door, her eyes still upon him.

He just huffed.

She smiled. "Alright."

And with that, she slipped away, out into the light. He sighed, closing his eyes, as her words repeated themselves within his thoughts.

_'...You work harder, with more determination. You always end up saving us when we're in trouble. Do you know why?'_

All of his other thoughts abruptly faltered as her words rang like bells.

_'Because you can. Because you're strong.'_

He gave another sigh, thankful that he'd shared his troubles with another, who had in turn comforted him. Just as she always would. But before, she'd said she couldn't stand him. Understandable. He'd never truly acknowledged her feelings before. But she'd always given him more than acknowledgement. He gave wry and empty laugh, hoarse. He never treated her fairly. But had he ever anyone?

He pictured her smiling at him in the darkness, where she'd been standing. His guilt was significantly less now, after a sincere talk with his teammate. A smile flickered across his lips.

_'Thank you, Sakura.'_

And then it disappeared.

* * *

_Ah, a more sentimental chapter. Sasuke confides in Sakura for the first time, and discovers she's a good listener. xD_

_Also, to make up for my total lack of depth with Itachi's death in the last chapter, I revealed a bit more here. Hm, seems Sasu-baby's warming up to Saku-baby a little, ne? x3 Oh yes. He is, he is._

_Review responses! o.o_

_**Sahara Storm** - Thank you, dearest. I hope you do stay tuned, because it gets much better. xD_

_EDIT: I revised this chapter. It's EXTREMELY revamped, so you might want to reread. xD;;_


	4. Chapter 3: Visitors

_Disclaimer: I definitely don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Masashi does, and if you don't believe me, SHOVE IT BASTARD! Dx_

* * *

**COLD FLOWER**

Chapter 3: Visitors

By Mokora

* * *

"Ne. Kakashi. Look at this."

Asuma sauntered into the room, looking particularly carefree, shoving a paper in Kakashi's direction. "S'for you." He shot his friend a sly grin. Kakashi looked at him, expressionless.

"You read my mail?"

"Sometimes."

Kakashi's visible brow rose, taking the paper and skimming it a moment, his free hand shoved inside a pocket.

He smiled beneath his face covering.

Asuma gave him a smirk and shrugged. "Gettin' some visitors, it seems."

The paper was actually a letter, addressed specifically to Kakashi, from an old friend.

"Kakashi," It read. "Mihara Sen of Hanashirou, Takei Ryo of Kurogoi, and I have been told the location of our next mission is in Konoha. I was delighted to hear this, because I haven't seen you in quite some time. I've also been anxious to see the pupils my dear old friends have been assigned. We'll arrive around any time within a week, and we expect to stay for quite a bit, to train in the Senaka Mountains. We look forward to seeing all of you. Best wishes, Hane Midori."

It was from Midori, an old friend of his in grade school. She was a quiet girl back then, who was taunted and called The Broken Musicbox, or Mute. After her father was murdered, her mother had forced her to flee alongside her to Sozori, a village far from Konoha. There, she trained and became a Sensei herself, now Hane Midori of Sozori. She'd always had a thing for Kakashi, that was true, though she had been far too shy to speak any word of it.

Sozori, also known as Hidden Moon Village, was a sleepy little place, with an elite ninja force. She was a head Sensei, the dedicated teacher of three promising pupils.

Hanashirou bordered Sozori and Kurogoi closely. The three villages often did group missions, solely because they were located so near to each other.

Kurogoi, Hidden Storm Village, was a dark land, whose citizens were highly respectable. Takei Ryo, a head Sensei, was a friend of Midori's, as well as Mihara Sen. Thus their missions were often entwined.

Kakashi smiled at his quirky friend. "Hane Midori. Haven't heard from her in quite a while."

"Yeah. Wonder what she looks like now? I don't guess she's still a mute, huh?"

"No. Obviously not."

"It's a letter, man."

"And?"

Asuma shook his head. "No use talkin' to you, Kakashi."

The silver-haired Sensei wiggled an upright index finger, and Asuma sighed, chuckling.

* * *

"Visitors?" Sakura questioned as the three Senseis told the students of the news.

"Yes. From Sozori, Kurogoi, and Hanashirou." Kakashi explained, all smiles.

"Kurogoi... Isn't that Hidden Storm Village?" Neji questioned, leaning against the large trunk of a nearby tree.

"Yes, it is. Takei Ryo, a friend of Asuma's, is coming along with his students."

"And Hanashirou." Sakura began. "Is Hidden Flower Village, right?"

"Yes. Mihara Sen is coming also, with his students."

"Sounds like fun!" Ino chimed.

Naruto grinned cattishly. He wondered how much stronger he was than the students of the different villages, conceit fueling the images of invincible Naruto that danced around his thoughts.

Sakura smiled. It would be nice, meeting new people. She wondered what they'd all look like, and how cultured they'd be.

Sasuke scoffed from his perch within the thick brush of the very tree Neji leaned upon. He crossed his arms, not sure of how he should feel about the news. New ninja? More freaks? That he was sure of.

* * *

Midori sighed wistfully as her thoughts trailed to Kakashi. What did he look like now? She smiled to herself and stretched. Turning sharply, she looked at the six students. "Everyone packed?"

"Hai!" Replied the giddy girl with golden-blonde hair and a flame-red costume.

"Yeah, I think we have everything..." Said the small, ink-haired boy with large round glasses.

"As I said, we'll meet those from Kurogoi there. Let's head out!" She motioned forward, and the pack moved forward. It was an estimated three-day journey to Konoha, if they travelled quickly, so everyone was sure to pack enough food and supplies for the trek.

* * *

Sakura awoke to the sweet whistling chirps of robins outside and obnoxious knocking from her door. Golden light filled her eyes as she woke, startled. The knocking continued.

"Sakura! Wake up!" Came a muffled voice.

Though difficult to specify exactly, she assumed it was Tenten. She stretched widely, working her stiff arm muscles for use later. "Coming." She replied hoarsely, slowing pulling herself out from under the sanctuary of her warm blankets and into the chilled room. She rubbed her eyes and sluggishly ambled towards the door, opening it slowly.

"Tenten? Hey..." She said, her hair tangled and voice wavering and drowsy.

Tenten beamed at her. "They got here early this morning!"

Sakura perked up. "The visitors?" She asked, excitement coursing through her for an instant. Tenten nodded merrily.

"We're all going to meet them now! Get dressed! Hurry!" She gestured with her hands for Sakura to rush off and ready herself. She obeyed, flying to her closet and pulling on her uniform with record timing and brushing her hair ferociously. "Slow down, Sakura! There's time!" She reassured her frantic friend, giggling.

Sakura tied her ninka band about her head like she always did and patted the wrinkles out of her Chinese-style sleeveless robe. She followed Tenten outside, where the others gathered. She strained to see past Kakashi, to catch sight of the guests, curiosity making her pulse with excitement.

"Kakashi! Look atchu!" She heard an older woman's voice call. She saw a slender opening beside Kakashi and seized it, promptly locating the woman she'd heard. She was tall and slim, with long wispy coal hair and striking grass-colored eyes. Her skin was pale cream, and her uniform consisted of complicated blues and greens, as well as depp blacks. The woman, she presumed Midori, took Kakashi's hands and swung them a bit, speaking some undeterminable words of greeting to the Sensei. His seen eye confirmed his hidden smile, and he ruffled her hair a bit. She laughed.

"Oi! Asuma!" Another taller man with sandy hair and a rugged look, complete with chin stubble, beckoned to Asuma. They approached each other and spoke, then laughed heartily. Asuma patted the man's back, grinning. Kurenai smiled at the last Sensei, who bowed his head to her, with nothing but an all-too-telltale little smile. But where were the students?

She noticed Sasuke, not to far from her, looking mostly uninterested. She smiled and approached him, squeezing past a few intrigued villagers.

"Anxious?"

"Not particularly."

She giggled a bit.

"What?" He snapped, wondering if it was he she was laughing at.

"You're curious. Admit it."

"Am not." He said, turning away from her and huffing. There she went with her accusations again. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, irritated by all of the hustle and bustle over a few guests.

"Midori, shall I introduce you to my pupils while yours get settled?" Kakashi offered, gesturing a swift hand towards Sakura and Sasuke. "Ah, please do!" She said, clapping her hands together. She was rather lively, Kakashi noted. She'd changed a lot over the years, and she'd come a long way from being mute.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke. Promising boy." Kakashi cooed, giving Sasuke's head a pat. The annoyed boy ducked, glaring, his arms firmly crossed over is chest.

"And Haruno Sakura, an intelligent problem-solver." He motioned towards her and she beamed, outstretching a hand politely.

"I'm Hane Midori! Nice to meet you both!" She shook Sakura's hand.

"Over there is Naruto. Fiesty young fellow, he is. But progressive, nonetheless." Kakashi jerked his head in the direction of the sunny-haired boy perched upon a high branch of a tree, attempting to get the best view when the students exitted the building they were to stay at. This building, conveniently enough, was the same building the Konoha ninja were staying in presently, as well as Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou.

Midori smiled. Konoha was such a lively village, compared to hers. It was just as when she'd left, years before.

* * *

Gaara looked on from the sidelines, unsure of the competition that had arrived with the unfamiliar students. Temari smirked, brushing the wheat-colored bangs from her eyes. "This oughtta be eventful."

Kankurou nodded. "Mm."

* * *

Naruto squinted, hand placed above his brow to shade his sight. A lanky boy with black hair exitted the building, a tall girl following.

"Finally! They're coming out!" He hissed to himself and climbed down.

The boy wore a black short-sleeved shirt, cut below the ribs, a fishnet mesh beneath. His tan shorts stopped at his knees, with brown sandals upon his feet. His raven hair was short and shot skywards, glasses resting upon his little nose. He looked younger than sixteen, with a babyish face, though his body was acceptable as an adolescent ninja. He looked worried and flustered.

The girl behind him, though, was another story. She has thick crimpy rust-colored hair that was braided along the top of her scalp back in rows, ending where the mane erupted. Her skin was darkly tanned, and she look deliciously exotic with two cream-colored stripes along each half of her jawline, stopping an inch below her big apple-red eyes. Her skin seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, wearing an unbelievable amount of jewelry atop a red uniform, her nails long and pointed like a feline's. Her lips were plump rubies, her ears lined with gold earrings galore. She looked about, her facial expression shouting annoyance, and she jingled quietly as she walked.

Naruto grinned. "Well, she's hot." He whispered to himself.

The uneasy boy tripped over a stone embedded in the dirt, blushing darkly.

The exotic girl behind him gave a look of disgust. "Move it along, dweeb." She shoved him a bit and he obeyed, ducking his head. He hated drawing attention to himself.

The merry blonde girl skipped out of the building now. Her coconut-brown eyes glowed with adventure, and she beamed as she examined the village and all it had to offer in a glance.

She was followed by two similar males, whom had their differences, but obviously were brothers. One was grinning, looking about. He had thick chocolate-brown hair, cut raggedly short, wearing a black robe, embroidered with crimson flowers. His brother had long flowing hair of the same color, two pieces left hanging before his calm face, the rest pulled back in a tight ponytail, clasped by a white paper band. He wore a deep blue robe, his bare chest bandaged sparsely.

Next was a striking girl, with thick ink-colored hair and a white uniform, styled much like Sakura's. Her bangs were cut just above her eyes, parted at the center, tresses falling to her shoulder. Her eyes were striking, the irises lined in steel that faded to a bright metallic white, the centers dotted with single black pupils. She looked left to right cautiously and walked onward, no trace of emotion detectable.

A significantly tall boy followed, stretching and yawning. He had long, untamed, oak-colored hair, that fell about his shoulders messily. His face was attractive, and he wore a traditional Japanese yukata of brick-red and beige. He glanced about nonchalantly and fumbled towards the fidgetty boy from before.

A boy exitted the building now, with thick, shaggy, reddish-brown hair. He had a cat-like face, with attractive amber eyes and tan skin. His uniform was a cream-colored sleeveless shirt that hung on him a bit, with green and orange pants that stopped halfway down his foreleg. He wore orange sandals, and fishnets armlets.

He looked about rapidly as he dashed here and there, rather wired. "Nami!" He called. "Nami!"

The blonde girl from before, who stood beside the two brothers, instinctively turned towards the call. Then she froze, her eyes wide with surprise for a moment.

"Kira!" She squealed and rushed to him. He flung his arms about her waist and twirled her in wide circles as her feet left the ground. The two wobbled after a few entertaining spins and so he regained his balance, releasing her. She stood on tiptoe and placed a frank kiss right upon his lips. He looked shocked at first, but turned three shades of red as the girl clung to him lovingly, nuzzling his chest.

* * *

Sakura peeked a bit and, jumping feebly upon tiptoes, she determined that the students had started exitting.

"Sasuke, let's go meet them!" She suggested.

"Hn."

She took his wrist gently and led him along, through the crowd.

"Ne--! Saku-- You don't hafta pull!" He snapped, but she paid him no mind.

They came to the building, and she looked about. She saw many new faces, and, glowing with excitement, she turned to Sasuke. "Be nice, alright?" She released his wrist and gave him a stern look. He avoided it a bit, turning his head, his eyes following her. "Whatever."

"Ne! Girl!"

Sakura turned. She heard a feminine voice from behind, beckoning to her. Or at least she assumed it was her.

The exotic girl from before approached her, all of her jewels glinting in the thick afternoon sunlight.

"What's your name?" She asked, with a little smirk.

"Haruno Sakura. You?" She forced a friendly smile, reluctantly noticing that the girl rivalled Ino's beauty.

"Tsukino Hime. Nice to meetcha, kid." She shook her hand a bit and brushed her large mane behind her a bit.

_'Kid...?'_ Sakura questioned internally. _'But she's the same age...'_

"That over there is Furiha Yoshie. He's not worth talking to really." She motioned towards the clumsy boy that sat against the trunk of a tree, attempting to disappear from the others. He rubbed his glasses gently, removing smudges.

"That's Hirokei Kira. He's a fox, but damn, does that girl get in my way..." She cocked her head curtly, gesturing towards the boy before who'd beckoned to the blonde. "That girl is Chinase Nami, and they're an item. The poor things hadn't seen each other in almost a year. Feh." The girl crossed her arms and moved on.

"The two lookalikes over there? Twins. The one that never shuts up and plays pranks any chance he gets is Kosue Kairi. He's the one with short hair. Kosue Jouri, the fox beside him, never speaks. Damn mute, he is. I tell ya, he'd be irresistable if he would at least _talk_ to you." She sighed, rolling her eyes a bit.

"The lazyass over there with the messy hair is Mikuru Kazuri. He doesn't do a damn thing unless it's fighting. Don't expect much help around her from him. He _is_ quite a looker though..." The girl, Hime, mused, tapping her index finger against her cheek.

Hime's eyes fell upon the girl who leaned against a tree with tired eyes, observing her surroundings silently.

"Oh, and _that_ girl. Damn, does she annoy me. She hardly said a word to anyone the whole way here, and she's all serious. Psh. Her name's Zakuro Kurai, and she supposedly has her own special technique or something, where she uses chakra ribbons. Who knows? I guess we'll see. But she doesn't look too friendly, so I'd watch out."

"And the idiot that's just now coming out is Kazaki Razu. He's psychotic, I swear. He hardly speaks, and he's _always_ wired. He loves the hunt and kill, and he always licks his weapons clean. He fights nicely though, with that wooden paddle of his." She snorted, shaking a dismissive, decorated hand in the direction of a white-blonde haired boy with many face piercings and scars.

Sakura followed her gestures and learned the names of the visitors, Sasuke listening, without seeming to be. Just as he always did.

Hime sighed merrily. "Well, anyway, you don't look so bad yourself. You're hair is... well... strange, but you're cute. We'll be great friends, hm?"

Sakura's brow twitched as she nodded, forcing a completely artificial smile. Something about this Hime made her rather uncomfortable.

_'My hair... isn't that bad...'_ She defended silently as the girl turned away from her.

Sasuke sighed as a feathery breeze swept past him.

* * *

_Okay, so this chapter is jumpy. I apologize for this chapter, really, because all it is is jumpy character introductions. No real action here. Which is definitely the suckage. Sorry for the lack of description. It's just an introduction chapter, to introduce the new teams, and that sort of thing. It'll get better from here on._

_The OC with the biggest role is definitely going to be Kurai. Just a little foreshadowing for ya. xD_

_Just to clear some things up..._

_Hime is meant to be a snob. She's a spoiled high-maintenance girl from the main Tsukino clan in Hidden Moon Village. Her name, Hime, means princess, and alltogether, her name translates to 'Moon Princess.' Thus her upper-class attitude. xD_

_Yoshie is meant to be one of those whimpering pushover nerds, I guess. And Razu is that kind of character that shrieks and makes odd noises, has a thing for blood, and doesn't fear anything. He's insane, and he rarely speaks English. And yes, his weapon is a wooden paddle. xDDD_

_Nami and Kira have met before, and they agreed to date each other.Due totraining and missions, though, they hardly see each other any more; thus the bigreunion thing. xD_

_Jouri is a mute, afterwitnessing his father beat his mother to death, and then his little sister. Kairi had always been more optimistic, so he tried to forget it and start a better life. He wasn't as traumatized._

_**ATTENTION!** I've gotten the Naruto OCs page up at my art site. The URL is above. PLEASE look at these to get a better picture, since it's really hard to describe the specific details in writing. This will help you visualize. xD_

_I hope the OCs are reasonable! Please tell me whatcha think!_

_**xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx** - No, Sakura won't be as giddy as Tenten or my OC Nami. xD Thanks!_

_**ayasi** - Thank you, and I'll try to update frequently!_

_**Itonami** - Thank you! I'm glad it's working out, since I was wondering if it was too OOC. oo xD_

_**Hao'sAnjul **- Yeah, it is amazing, huh? xD Thank you!_

_ALSO! I revamped the last chapter. Please reread, since it's so much better, I promise. xD_


	5. Chapter 4: Meetings

_Disclaimer: Mehz dun pwn teh Narutonezz, mahn._

* * *

**COLD FLOWER**

Chapter 4: Meetings

By Mokora

* * *

Kakashi smiled unnoticably at the now more expansive crowd of students. "Listen kiddos," He began, scratching his head a bit. "Be nice to 'em, since they'll be here a while. Introduce yourselves, show them around, and get along, or else this won't be pleasant. Tomorrow, we're doing some special training at about noon, so be ready. The rest of the night is yours." He waved a little and turned to talk with his friends. Midori was chuckling with Kurenai, while Ryo and Asuma enjoyed sodas and old stories.

Sakura broke away from the more sociable students and seeked Sasuke, who was isolating himself, as usual. She took a few steps forward, leaves crackling beneath her feet. Night had fallen now, flecks of heavenly white stars speckling the indigo sky, a few deep lavender clouds streaking across the cradled moon, fading into deeper shades at the edges. Robins swooped from tree to tree, searching for a suitable nook to roost in for the night, huddling along each branch and singing their last songs before sleep. The villagers and Senseis had created a nice atmosphere, with colored paper lanterns that hung from wires strung about wooden posts, to welcome the guests. It was a rather peaceful night, Sakura noted gratefully, wanting nothing more at that moment than to relax.

She moved towards Sasuke more slowly now, a little smile illuminating her shadowed face, as she had turned her back to the celebrative lights to approach her beloved. He was situated away from the lights and cheer, and he merely leaned against a tree, eyes closed. She neared him and looked from right to left. "It's a nice night." She attempted to strike up a conversation, and one eye of his opened.

"Hn." Was his reply, which amazingly was his understandable reply to many things. Though it was so unspecific, she always seemed to know what he meant by it. In this case, he was agreeing with her, in a distant sort of way.

"So... What are you going to do?" She asked, standing beside him, a bit forward. She hugged her arms to her middle, as she did quite frequently, looking out at the bustling people. She saw Tenten talking with Nami, and Shikamaru and Ino talking to Kairi and Kazuri.

"Hgn?" Sasuke asked, lifting his head slightly and looking at her questioningly.

"I mean for the rest of the night." She elaborated. "You can't possibly stand here against this tree all night..." She chuckled quietly, awkwardly.

"Really." He shifted a bit and tilted his head back until it rested against the trunk comfortably.

"C'mon... Come meet some of them." Sakura tried, offering a small smile.

"Feh." He scoffed, sneering now. "Those freaks'll find me sooner or later themselves. I can wait."

Sakura sighed, still smiling. He was so cynical, but she couldn't claim that she didn't want to sit beside him the whole night, by that very tree.

"Don't you want any company?" She asked curiously, looking towards the crowd again. She spotted Konohamaru reaching up difficultly to grab a dumpling from a table.

"Doesn't matter."

"Do you really want to be out here, all by yourself?"

"I was, wasn't I?"

"But did you _enjoy_ it?" She persisted.

He laughed ever so slightly now, and Sakura stopped, looking at him perceptively. He was gorgeous when he laughed. His smile proved very complimenting to his other dashing features, like his deep set eyes and thick coal hair.

"What?" She asked defensively, smiling playfully.

He shook his head. "You're pushy."

"So are you!"

"Hm."

She paused, smiling inside and out as she felt her love glow within her heart again. It was a pleasant feeling, that made her feel more serene and homebound.

"If you're staying here..." She began, pausing and swallowing with difficulty. "Can I... Would you mind if I stayed too?" The last words grew more quiet, and she felt her cheeks flame as her stomach turned over a bit. Would she be rejected again?

He looked at her with his intense stone eyes for a moment and sighed silently. "If you want."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat and she hid her joyous smile as the glow within her burst into thousands of tiny little feathers.

"Okay then."

* * *

Gaara was also isolating himself from the crowd, which Temari and Kankurou had joined earlier. He lacked his sand gourd, travelling lightly, as he avoided the crowds by all means.

He walked between spaced trees, within the forest's shadows, eye watching the merriness of everyone. But then, his senses flared. Someone else was near.

The girl known as Kurai stood a distance before him, walking in his direction, avoiding his gaze. He watched her as she neared, and as she passed him, their eyes lingered on each other's. She slipped past him and looked back meekly, expecting to be unnoticed, though he looked back also, their eyes locking once more. This moment seemed to slow in time as they watched the other, observingly. She turned away and continued walking. He looked after her, with sobering sea-green eyes. That girl...

* * *

Neji watched Razu with a hint of disgust, wondering what his problem was. Tenten approached him casually, leaning against the table as he did, at his side.

"_Some_ folks." She joked, grinning at the quirky guests.

He snorted, his eyes following the jingling and sparkling Hime. "Yeah."

"At least something's _happening_. I mean, lately, there hasn't been much going on." She stated, swatting a fly that darted about in front of her face, tickling her when it grazed her.

"Yeah."

"Any of them look like competition?" She smashed the pesky insect between her palms abruptly, letting its remains float to the ground, then turning her gaze to the beautiful calm boy beside her.

"Not exaclty." He said, scanning the newcomers once more with his violet eyes, to be sure. "But appearances tell lies."

"True." She said, nodding. "Lee's found a new friend in Kairi, it seems, and Shikamaru has taken to Kazuri." She gestured towards the two similar bums drinking sodas, seating upon the ground beside the crowd, laughing until they rolled over and tilted dangerously.

Neji laughed dryly.

"Ino and Hime seem to get along. But, I swear..." She stopped, scrunching her brow angrily. "That Hime is _way_ too conceited. The first time she saw me, she told me I looked average, which 'isn't a bad thing'." She did little quotation motions to the last words, speaking in a mocking voice. Neji looked over at her with a little smirk, amused.

"Hm..." Tenten smiled, rubbing her left forearm, wondering if she was indeed average. "Nami's sweet though. She loves Kira a whole lot. It's really cute."

Neji said nothing, resuming his minute smirk.

"I was going to look for a Sakura a while ago, but I saw her talking with Sasuke by a tree over there. I decided not to bother them." She giggled a little, then retained her calm. "He's really as strong as he claims to be?"

Neji nodded.

"So... He's stronger than you?"

He nodded again.

"Well, we'll hafta fix that!" Her volume rose, and she lifted a determined fist, grinning.

Neji smiled at her antics, considering her words. He'd like to train with her soon.

* * *

Naruto marched over to the tall intimidating boy with long brunette hair and cold ice-blue eyes, known as Jouri.

"What's your name, opponent?" He folded his arms, poking his bottom lip out. This attempt to look intimidating himself failed, seeing as he was a foot shorter than the other.

The boy stared at him coldly, but said nothing.

Naruto waited, getting frustrated.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" He waved an arm dramatically. "What's your name?"

Still nothing. The taller boy returned his gaze to the forest, angering the blonde hothead further.

"What? You think you're too good to talk to me? Well I oughtta--"

Kairi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, silencing him. He laughed achingly, as Naruto reddened.

"This, my little friend, is a mute. My brother doesn't speak. Don't take it personally." He continued to laugh between words, Naruto feeling foolish.

"Well... He should learn how to talk!" Naruto snapped indignantly, shooting an acidic leer towards the mute boy, then marching off. Kairi laughed heartily, always rather tickled when people tried to speak to his brother. Jouri shook his head a bit, annoyed.

* * *

Midori crossed her arms casually and looked at the many pupils, horsing around. Kakashi stood beside her, watching also. He couldn't help but feel a little prideful, seeing as none of them had died yet. He'd found that amusing, actually.

Midori pointed to Hime. "That's one of my students. Tsukino Hime, daughter of the lead clan in Sozori. She has quite an attitude, but it keeps her alive. She's powerful too, since her clan carries feline blood. She can choose to be temporarily posessed by this feline demon and she can pack quite the punch. It proves its purpose, I suppose. And there's Yoshie." She directed Kakashi eyes to the boy, surrounded by curious village girls. "He's such a shy boy. But he's powerful also. The worst thing you could do in a battle with that boy is underestimate him." She squinted to look for her last student, seeing him sitting with one of the Konoha boys. "Ah. There's Kazuri. He's as lazy as they come, really. He likes to finish fights as quickly as possible, so that he can watch from the sidelines or sleep." She chuckled. "But he shines on the battlefield. Ironically, his speed is superb."

Kakashi grinned beneath the navy mask. "Quite a handful."

She laughed. "And what about you? The last Uchiha? _That's_ a handful."

He nodded. "Guess you're right."

She looked at him with a little smirk, memories of his pokey silver hair coming back. She'd loved every moment he'd glanced at her, though she never said a word. She'd outgrown this childish shyness, of course, but she still admired him as she had many years before. He still had that heroic aura she'd invisioned as a young girl. She felt her girlish attraction surface, and she shook her head ever so slightly, smiling. He was more gorgeous than ever.

But she couldn't help but wonder what he looked like without that mask. Though everyone did, she was sure. This amused her greatly, and she couldn't help but release a grin.

* * *

_Shorter chapter here, but it has more description! Yeah! xD_

_Okay, yes. There's SasuSaku in there, as well as NejiTen. And I guess that's because I'm biased. Because those are my two favorite Naruto couples. xD;; NaruHina and ShikaIno later?_

_And... A lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. See if you can pick it up. It all wound in there, where you hafta think about it, but alas, it exists._

_Ehm... Yes. OC flood, but I promise it will mellow out soon._

_Reviews! x3_

_**Hao'sAnjul** - I know. Too many decriptions. oo Not as fun, but when they're out of the way, the rest is plenty of fun. xD Thanks for reading!_


	6. Chapter 5: Bonding

_Disclaimer: Well slap my tomato and call 'em Spandex. I don't own Naruto._

* * *

**COLD FLOWER**

Chapter 5: Bonding

By Mokora

* * *

It was late evening, and everyone else had gone inside. Sasuke had stayed, since he felt most calm and carefree at night. The moon shown down on the pair brightly, a silvery crescent against the sky's deep purple hue.

Sakura sat upon the ground before Sasuke, merrily thinking. She could feel his gaze linger on her at times, though she didn't turn to meet it. She enjoyed the serenity of the night, the tranquility of sitting beside her beloved. She'd hardly come this close before, though she indeed tried.

"Sakura..." He said, yanking her from her thoughts. She jumped a little and turned to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going inside. To sleep." He began his trek to the building slowly, hands tucked in his shorts' pockets.

"Alright. Goodnight!"

He stopped walking and turned to her from a distance. "You can't sit out here by yourself. Everyone has gone inside."

She thougth about this a moment.

"It's alright. I'll be fine."

Sasuke looked at her flatly, then sighed, running a masculine hand through his stringy hair.

"I can't leave you out here."

She giggled to herself. He'd caught this though, and flashed her a look of pure annoyance, and he huffed. Though he wasn't truly annoyed. Just prideful.

"What's so funny _now_?"

"See, you _are_ pushy." She retorted, jumping up and bounding after him. He rolled his eyes.

* * *

Sakura grabbed a bag of potato chips down from a basket resting atop a marble counter. The vast kitchen had most everything you could ask for, seeing as the building was conventiently theirs until further notice from the Senseis. The boys were getting ready to head off into their rooms, but first, they desired snacks.

Chouji took the liberty of gathering every item of junk food available, pouring some of the boxes and bags and wrappers' contents into a large bowl, filling it to the brim. This was _his_ bowl. He was sure to let everyone know.

Shikamaru politely requested his own portion of chips from Sakura and she complied. Handing him his very own bowl, she looked around. "Anyone else want chips?" She waved the bag a bit, a few boys turning their heads to investigate the offer. Kira perked up, giving a cattish grin. "Here!" He marched over and accepted his portion humbly, stalking back to the group of boys he'd befriended.

Sakura noted that this boy, Kira, was a lot like Naruto. Energetic, determined, and at times, rather simple-minded. His beloved, Nami, stole a chip from his bowl and as he began to protest the theft, she winked at him. That did the trick. He gave a hopeless sigh and a roll of his eyes, holding the bowl out to her, offering her more. She declined politely, smiling.

Nami, she'd presumed, was a simple, honest girl. She didn't seem like the kind of girl who'd pursue the life of the ninja, but, after examining that thought more thoroughly, she didn't seem the type herself. The girl was perky and rather dim-witted at times, offering low-watt comments and stating the obvious. Though she could see what Kira loved about her. She was cute, for one thing, with her choppy blonde hair and big auburn eyes. She was loyal and honest, and Sakura bet she'd never told a lie in her life. She was completely natural, completely raw, and she was loved because she was herself at all times. The pink-haired girl felt a wistful envy play her heartstrings. If only _she_ wasn't such a fake.

"Ne! Jouri! I know you want food!" Kairi accused toyingly. The fierce-looking taller boy shook his head shamefully at his loud-mouth brother, who was waving the 'chip girl' down. "Hey, dandelion! Bring the stuff over here!" He coaxed. His brother smacked him across the head abruptly, clearly annoyed, and he winced.

Sakura, peeved by the informality of this audacious boy, approached him with a cocked brow. "Take some or stop yelling." She demanded, shoving the bag into his chest. He gave a nervous chuckle, noticing her dangerous expression and underlying proof of dislike. "Thanks." He said apologetically, dishing out some chips for himself and then shoving a handful in his brother's direction. The irritated boy took the pile into his own hand, eating each chip slowly.

Sasuke shook his head and turned away from the scene, hands stuffed in his pockets, prepared to spend the night sulking in his room. Sakura saw this and abandoned the bag, Kairi reaching for it quickly and retrieving seconds.

"Ne! Sasuke!" She called after him. He was already halfway up the stairs, and he turned, his gaze expressionless and uninterested.

"You don't want anything?" She asked, wondering if he indeed was famished, though he was just too stubborn to accept food. This was often the case with many things.

"No." He turned his back to the girl, returning to his pilgrimage to the top. If he'd made it there without one person vying for his attention, he'd internally celebrate the new record, as if his acquaintances could never let him retreat to his room without interruptions. This had failed though, as always. He'd been coaxed, and now he was openly irritated.

"I'll make you some onigiri, if you'd like. I don't recall seeing you eat anything today."

He stopped walking. This was true. He _was_ indeed hungry, but he didn't plan to fight his way through the pack of animals that flooded the kitchen area, and he certainly wasn't going to accept an offer of affection from Sakura. At least, not the first time she asked. Pride played its role in this also.

But, as he pondered her offer, he decided that onigiri would be quite nice before releasing himself to sleep, releasing himself to the nightmares that never ceased. It would take the unfortunate edge off, or at least some.

"Fine." He snapped, then receded to his newly-assigned room, which was now upstairs. Upon the rush of visitors, his former room was closer to the kitchen and restrooms and was promptly forfeited, seeing as it was a privilage he couldn't retain when it came to hospitality and guests.

She smiled. "I'll bring them up soon."

He scoffed. She was a good-hearted girl. Far too good for his liking, he retaliated against the complimenting thought, rather indignantly. Or far too good for his worthiness.

Sakura retreated to the kitchen, as others began to file out to their rooms. Tenten smiled at the pleased girl. "Let's have a sleepover!" She suggested. "We can get to know each other!"

Hime gave a cat-like sneer and scoffed. "Well, we could invite the boys?"

Kurai, who hadn't made her presence known until then, leered at the gaudy material girl. Hime paid no mind to the insignificant silent girl. Temari laughed wryly.

Sakura grinned, ignoring the vain girl beside her. "That's a great idea! Do we all agree?"

Nami jumped up and down, clapping her hands together. "Sounds like so much fun!" Ino nodded in agreement.

Kurai cocked her head to the side inquisitively. Maybe it wouldn't be _so_ bad. Her eyes trailed to Hime. Okay, so it _would_ be bad. But she would just rough it, considering all but her would disagree in the least, and her newer acquaintances seemed tolerable enough. She wasn't much of a social person, which was obvious by the cold looks she cast upon everyone near and far, though she wasn't going to reject any attempts at friendship. There were exceptions with total bitches of course, she mused, entertained by her relentless and uncensored thoughts. Just like the cursed cat that wore too much makeup, standing only a few feet from her.

Sakura cooked a pan of fresh white rice, buzzing with determination. Sasuke actually wanted them this time, and so she was _not_ going to ruin this opportunity with mistakes. After it simmered and browned lightly, she scraped it into a bowl and began to mold the rice balls with skill. Nami helped make a few, Kurai preparing a wasabi dish, which she'd dismissed as a special clan recipe the Zakuros made often, during celebrations and weddings.

After only half an hour, the knowledgable beginner-chefs carried meal plates on trays around the corner or up the stairs, travelling door to door and offering a few.

Ino carried her tray to Shikamaru's room and knocked loudly. She could hear the muffled crash of what seemed to be a chair tumbling over violently, and she chuckled under her breath. "Damn!" She heard him mutter, assuming he'd hurt his foot in some way.

He opened the door after a brief pause and gave forth an awkward smile, trying to hide the fact that his right smallest toe throbbed with the wrath of a thousand daggers. One brow rose as she observed his poorly-hidden agony. "I figured you'd want some." She poked the tray towards him. He looked at its contents with ecstacy, forgetting his injury, seeing the politely made onigiri and spicy wasabi, pushed to the side. "T-Thanks." He stammered, taking a plate from the tray and smiling, brows turned upwards. Ino smiled. "Goodnight, Shika."

He flustered a bit, noticing how nice she'd looked then. Her big sky-blue eyes never ceased to draw the instinctive attention of his wandering mind, and he often found himself gazing at them as if they contained something mesmerizing and hypnotic. He'd just recently started to realize how attractive his teammate was, and he often scolded himself for it, seeing as he was practically worthless and he'd known her for such a long time, she'd probably be revolted if she witnessed his thoughts at times. True, he tried to surpress the dirty thoughts that came without warning whenever Ino decided to lay outside and tan, dressed in nothing but a violet bikini. Her eyes were always covered with rhinestone-encrusted sunglasses, and he'd sometimes watch her bask in the warmth from his unknown window perch, his heart skipping a little every time she spritzed herself with water from a little bottle, to enhance the tan's results. But, alas, he was male, and Ino's body drove his senses wild. He had to admit that he enjoyed the buzz, also.

"Goodnight, Ino." He replied casually into the hallway as he watched her make her way to Chouji's room, a few doors down. His eyes fell to her rear, which swayed pleasantly as she walked, and he jerked his head away, ashamed and reluctant. "Dumb, dumb, dumb!" He cursed, pounding himself over the head mercilessly as he slammed the door. She was his _teammate_. His comrade, and long-time friend. How did these feelings begin to surface all of the sudden, over the last year or so? How did she manage to become so beautiful, without changing at all? His cheeks reddened and he cursed internally as he felt the frustrating burning sensation flare where he continued to darken. She was _just_ Ino. Just Ino. He sat down in his former chair and rubbed his toe gingerly, wincing, thoughts of Ino and the confusion she stirred within him occupying his mind.

* * *

Kurai was assigned to deliver food to Kakashi, Midori, Ryo, Kankurou, Lee, and Gaara. She ambled down the Senseis' hall, finding Kakashi's door at the end. She knocked quietly, hearing low voices within. "Just a sec!" She heard the quirky masked man say.

He opened the door, his visible eye conveying a cheery mood. "Yes?"

She held the tray out without a word, his merriment quickly turned to gleeful gratitude. "Please, take a plate if you're hungry." She bowed her head slightly, and Kakashi took two plates. He then took a step back to reveal Midori sitting upon the floor of his room, smiling. "Catching up on things, you know?" He explained simply. "I'll need another of these."

Kurai gave an obedient nod and smiled. _'One less trip for me.'_ She thought cynically.

She stepped towards her Sensei's door, which was slightly ajar, soft rock music emitted through the crevice. "Sensei?" She beckoned, poking her head in the door. She was more comfortable now, seeing as she knew Ryo quite well. She was, as he'd made her swear never to repeat, his star pupil. Even moreso than the promising Kira.

He turned, just then adjusting a black t-shirt about his stomach. "Hey, Kuri. What's up?" She was briefly peeved by his fatherly nickname, though she'd grown used to it. Razu often poked fun at her, calling her Kuri-Kuri and Kuri-chan, which she used as an excuse to complain often about her careless Sensei, usually to his face. The situation always resulted in laughter, though, seeing as he was a genuine expert at talking his way out of accusations and punishment.

For a grown man, he was rather childish and quite the prankster, always sending his students for countless loops, which never ceased to rile the tempermental Kira. He was like a mere teenager himself, though he looked older and sophisticated, and rather handsome. That was his way, he called it. Dashing looks and a fun personality. Kurai clearly remembered how she'd laughed when hearing him say that, which she rarely ever did. Seeing as her father was dead, Ryo replaced him years before, without her consent, though she didn't mind. He could never replace her true father, but he was alright as a substitute. He was pleasant enough.

"If you're hungry, I suggest you get some while it lasts." She entered the room, and he let his eyes rest upon the tray for a moment. "Wait... Is that that wasabi stuff you make?" He asked, narrowing his eyes as he inspected the dish. She nodded, and a devious twinkle glimmered in his eyes as a large sneer formed upon his lips. Her brow twitched apprehensively, seeing as she'd seen this notorious face many times before, and she instinctively jumped back a bit, still startled despite her knowing predictions, as he sprang forward and retrieved a plate violently. He stuffed three-fourths of a rice ball into his mouth, grinning in a goofy manner. "'Shanks!" He half chewed, half talked, bits of rice decorating his chin. She just shook her head, amused, and left.

Next, she found her way to Kankurou's room, which was upstairs and to the left, next to Temari's. She hadn't caught but a glimpse of him before, and he seemed nice enough, though very strange. She knocked upon his door, feeling unpleasantly repetitive. He opened it and gazed down at the food. "Take one. You must be hungry." She said, offering a little smile. He returned one of his own, filled with gratitude, promptly taking a plate. "Thank you."

She nodded and retreated into the dimly-lit hallway. She balanced the tray upon her palm, correcting its risky wobbles with her fingers as she used the freedom of her other hand to brush the thick black hair from her silvery eyes. Now to Lee's room.

She travelled down the balcony-styled hallway, which opened out into a vast view of the lobby and parts of the kitchen. She found Lee's door and knocked. "Who is it?" He called in a quirky sing-song voice. "Food delivery." She replied, unable to surpress the little smile that crossed her lips, due to the boy's antics. He flung the door open quickly and glanced at her only for a moment with a stern gaze of determination, then down at the two plates left upon the tray. It seemed the word 'food' never failed to lure males. "You're hungry, I presume?" She questioned, feeling an unexplainable comfort near this strange boy. Maybe he was just one of those people.

He said nothing and lifted a tray, bowing dramatically with a little flourish of his hand. "Thank you, miss."

She replied with a swift nod and closed his door softly, one plate left upon the tray, to go to Gaara. She began to trail down Kankurou's side of the hall, when she heard a distant "YOSH!" from Lee's room, as well as the sound of something breaking and she chuckled quietly.

Gaara's room eminated a feeling of unease. She hadn't seen him enter the building at all before, though she could sense his presence behind the thick wooden door. She hesitated a bit, remembering her uncomfortable encounter with him earlier. She reached for the door's brass knob, though she stopped as her fingertips grazed it. Gaara...

"What do you need?" His voice was sharp and deep, laced with aggravation.

She jumped slightly, heart heart racing. _'I wasn't expecting that... His stealth skills are astonishing.'_ She thought, opening the door slightly. "Would you like something to eat?" She questioned, poking her head inside. The room was pitch-black, with some kind of dark covering over the window. She located his luminous aquatic eyes within the black and she smiled. "You must be hungry, I'm sure."

There was a pause, and she could tell he was silently observing her through the darkness. "What is it?" He asked, his eyes dropping to the tray. Though the room was significantly dark and one would think that nothing could be seen under any such conditions, Kurai wisely assumed Gaara had grown rather used to the lack of lighting. In fact, he could probably see quite well.

"Onigiri and a wasabi dish."

Another pause. He walked forward, his eyes nearing her, the only beacon of color in the black. The last plate was lifted and she let the large tray hang vertically at her side, holding it loosely. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask, hm?" She suggested, turning towards the door.

The mysterious boy said nothing, his chilling eyes lingering upon her.

"Tea." He said after a brief pause.

"You'd like tea?" She turned towards him again. "What kind?"

"Green."

She flashed a smile at the boy, whose eyes never left her dark silhouette. "It'll be right up."

And with that she left, closing his door quietly. She made her way down the stairs hastily, her heart thudding peacefully. Something was intriguing about Gaara, something mysterious and enchanting. She'd even found herself feeling ever so slightly flirtacious with the boy, whom she knew nothing about. This was shocking, seeing as she'd never paid much attention to anything pertaining to romance before, simply because it didn't matter. She was beginning to doubt her philosophies, though, seeing as she'd begun to wonder what it was like to love someone. She wondered if it would help mend the ailing sores of living.

She flashed a smile at Ino, who passed her at the bottom of the stairwell, and she made her way into the large kitchen, placing the large tray on the counter. She pulled down a wooden cup from the far left cabinet, which lacked a handle and smelled vaguely of herbs and spice. She mixed the green tea as she had many times before for herself, taking a little sip. It was just right, she noted, slightly relieved, and wondered if the reclusive redhead would like it.

Up the stairs she went, passing Temari and nearly colliding with the blonde's tray, making her way to Gaara's door one again. "Come in." He said, once again not failing to detect her before she made herself known. She entered slowly, holding the cup of tea carefully. He was perched upon the bed now, eyes following her with unnecessary suspicion. She approached him and held the cup out. He took it and observed it briefly, turning his gaze to her again. He clutched it within both palms, muttering a small 'Thank you' to the girl.

She smiled genuinely, nodding. "Goodnight, Gaara." She said, waving a hand in his direction as she exitted the depressing room. "Hng." He replied, sipping the tea and savoring the bittersweet taste, recognizing the underlying tangerine flavoring. This Kurai was a skilled cook, he noted as he helped himself to another sip.

* * *

Temari returned to the kitchen only a minute after Kurai, smirking as she usually did. "Finished the deliveries. Lessee... There was Kairi, Jouri, Kazuri, Razu, and Mihara-Sensei." She sat the tray down on the counter, atop Kurai's, and stretched. "Five happy customers."

Kurai washed the area of the counter she'd cooked on earlier, using a store-bought antibacterial substance specifically for counters she'd discovered in the compartment beneath the double-sink. "I got Gaara, Kankurou, Lee, Kakashi, Midori, and Ryo taken care of."

Hime sauntered in. "You girls done running errands? I'm aware there's a party to attend." She sneered.

Ino hopped in, her arms folded about the large circular tray that rested against her legs and middle. "Mission 'Feed Shika, Chouji, and Yoshie' accomplished." She gave a thumbs-up gesture and winked at Hime, who'd befriended the blonde hothead earlier in the day. Their personalities were similar, though Ino wasn't so bossy and conceited as Hime.

Tenten entered also, smiling, a bit flustered. "I delivered to Neji, Gai-Sensei, and Asuma."

She thought back to the look of gratitude Neji had shown as she offered him her very own special plate, by which she'd added mints along the side, just for him. He loved mints, she'd discovered before, remembering the scrap of information just for this type of occasion. She remembered how rare it was to see him smile at all, and so the image stayed snug within her thoughts.

Hinata followed, with a smaller tray. "Kiba and Shino both accepted the meals." She gave a shy little smile and Tenten returned it. "Now we wait for the other two."

* * *

Sakura had one meal left to deliver, and she approached Sasuke's door apprehensively. She knocked quietly. "Ne, Sasuke?"

"Come in."

She entered gingerly, holding the plate out towards Sasuke, who was reclining on his bed, a single lamp lighting the room from its perch upon the bed's side-table. He sat up, taking the plate with both hands. "Thanks."

"No problem at all!" She hooked her fingers behind her back in a girlish gesture, as she let the empty tray rest against her legs.

Sasuke noticed how nice his dish looked, with organized leaves and three onigiri placed neatly in the corner, the wasabi topped with a sprig of parsley. He was amused by this act of affection, assuming no one else recieved such a dainty-looking meal. He lifted the twin chopsticks from the edge of the floral-patterned plate and popped a marinaded leaf into his mouth, chewing quietly. She smiled and opened his door.

"Sweet dreams, Sasuke."

"Hm."

What a foolish wish that was, he thought curtly as he lifted a small chunk of wasabi into his mouth, relishing the spice and fire that came along with it. He always had nightmares. Most were more so memories, of his family lying dead before him as their thick blood dripping from his brother's hands, glinting with pure injustice. His brother was his nightmare. Even after relieving the hated Akatsuki of his life of abuse and greed, he lived on within his dreams. He wondered if he'd ever be rid of such torment, such hauntings that filled his subconscious routinely. He tossed and turned during sleep too, seeing as he'd sometimes wake up just before sliding off the bed's cushiony edge and crashing to the floor.

He felt a sudden sadness overwhelm his thoughts of hatred as he became swept into the damaging storm of reverie, thinking back to the peaceful days. He remembered how his brother had often thumped his forehead, making false promises and smiling as a brother would. He remembered how skilled his brother had been, how reclusive he'd become, how he troubled his father. His thoughts strayed to the special type of Sharingan his brother had accomplished.

He missed his brother at that moment, fear and pain gripping his heart. He missed the brother he had been, before he was consumed with the untouchable yearning for power and independence. He lowered his wistful eyes to the plate and lifted an onigiri, taking a bite gratefully. He felt guilt pull at his heart once more, as it always did when he was left to brood, alone. He hated the silence, and so he attempted to chew loudly, though it didn't ease the unrest that had settled within him. Visions of his brother's corpse entered his mind and he heaved a large sigh, closing his eyes. Was he really so pathetic?

_'These... are good.'_ He thought, tearing his mind from the difficult subjects he always found himself straying to when remembering the life he'd endured for sixteen long years. He took another large bite of the rice treat and closed his eyes, lying back again, the plate, left with only a few discarded grains of rice, resting by his side.

* * *

Sakura returned with Nami, whom she'd met up with at the stairs, to the chatty group of girls in the kitchen with an empty tray. "I delivered to Sasuke and Kurenai, and Nami to Naruto and Kira." She grinned, buzzing with pleasant joy.

"So we're done?" Temari asked.

"Good. Who's room are we sleeping in tonight?" Hime asked, tapping an index finger against her jawline impatiently.

"You're welcome to stay in my room." Ino's hand rose and she looked about at the girls.

"That alright?" Hime looked towards Sakura questioningly.

"Alright. Let's get our stuff!" Sakura said, smiling. The girls nodded and dispersed into themanydark and sleepy corners of the large building, all to meet in Ino's room promptly after.

* * *

_Alright, man! xD Freakin' YEAH! We're finally getting off on a nice start here with the OCs, and I must say, I'm pleased with this chapter. There's the beginning interactions between Gaara and Kurai, and the OCs have succesfully fit themselves into the storyline, I think. xD_

_Please, tell me whatcha think! x3_

_Reviews! o.o_

_**xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx** - xD Good suggestion! Kazuri is quite a ladies' man, and well, he hits on everybody. Especially Ino, which makes Shika pretty mad. xD Thanks!_

_**sakusasukawaii** - I'll read your fanfics if I get time. Thanks!_

_**Son of Darkness** - Haha, yeah, I thought it was a genuine moment for dear Naruto, with Jouri. xD And I try really hard to make the SasuSaku realistic. o.o It's tough, since Sasu-baby's such a bitch sometimes! xD Bwar. Thanks!_

_**Hao'sAnjul** - Wow, you're becoming my new friend. x3 Anyway, thanks for all your reviews!_

_EDIT:_ _Revamped this chapter too. x.x;; Only a little though._


	7. Chapter 6: Games

_Disclaimer: Dude. WTF. Naruto isn't mine. I'm totally freakin' out._

* * *

**COLD FLOWER**

Chapter 6: Games

By Mokora

* * *

Ino leaped onto the soft sheets of her blue bed, getting comfortable and eventually deciding to sit with legs crossed. She stretched a little, hearing a few satisfactory pops emitted from her spine. There was a knock at her door.

"Come on in!"

Tenten entered, carrying a flowery pillow and a little green blanket. She smiled at the blonde, who waved her inside. "Where d'ya wanna sleep?" Ino asked, gazing about the cluttered room for possible sleeping arrangements. Tenten looked about. "Can I just sleep on the floor somewhere?"

"Sure, I mean, if you wanna..."

"Well, a lot of us will hafta sleep on the floor anyway."

"True."

The auburn-haired girl put her pillow and blanket down while Ino spread a feather-filled comfort across the floor, for cushioning. Tenten arranged her pillow, fluffing its edges, and rested an elbow on it, the other arm pulling the blanket over her bare legs.

"This is going to be fun, getting Hinata to play Truth or Dare." Ino snickered as she lay back atop her bed, tucking a blazing-yellow stuffed duck beneath the crevice of her shoulder and torso, snuggling it a bit.

Tenten's eyes widened. "We're playing Truth or Dare?" She seemed slightly fearful. She hated that game. Abhorred it. She always ended up telling secrets that would trip her steps in the long run, always ended up being the one who did outrageous stunts. Once, she'd been tricked into running to Neji's door, completely naked from head to toe, and knocking. She was lucky if she'd reached the girl's house in time before giving Neji the show of his life, for sure. She'd succeeded that night. _'Thank the heavens!'_ she'd muttered, her face an infuriating coral color.

Neji, of course, had been peeved. He assumed it was one of Naruto's pranks.

Ino laughed, also in reverie, recollecting the most memorable times and events of her beloved and wicked game. She'd get so much dirt tonight, she couldn't help but cackle. Blackmail was clearly on the way.

Temari entered with Kurai, carrying their things. Tenten gave an awkward and pained little smile at the two. Temari noticed this and understood at once, the tip of her mouth twisting into a sly little curl. "So Ino's planned a game of good old Truth or Dare again, hm?"

Ino nodded sweetly, her expression almost innocent, though she could never forge such childlike purity within those big blue eyes after abandoning innocence so long before. Her boyfriends never failed to seduce her, and most of the time, she was just the flavor of the week. Once they had what they'd wanted, they moved on. Ino, however, failed to realize this, and seemed utterly heartbroken every time. Sakura sometimes envied the bombshell, though after seeing her aching tears so many times before, the echoing green was fading into that of a sympathetic relief. She was glad that she wasn't so easily led about by hounds. Ino's case, on the other hand, was a genuine pity. She was oblivious to the intentions of most men she chanced, and thus every relationship was 'true love'.

Sakura entered carrying a circular pillows embroidered with cherry blossoms and a red blanket with lace frills, Nami bounding in after her, carrying a massive stuffed rabbit with floppy ears and fur the color of strawberry champagne. A bag flopped about her elbow, seeing as it took two arms to carry the large fuzzy creature.

Ino giggled at the girl's innocence. It would play nicely within her game. "What's its name?" She asked with a large smirk, jabbing a finger in the direction of the droopy animal.

Nami smiled widely. "Usagi-sama!"

Ino collapsed onto the bed, cackling as she often did. Nami didn't perceive this gesture as an act of being mad fun of, she she joined in merrily. Sakura looked at the two with a hopeless smile, unloading a pink hairbrush and a small black hair-tie.

Kurai stretched out across the cold floor gratefully, seeing as Ino's room was one of the hottest in the whole complex. Though she was wearing more clothing than the others, dressed in a loose black robe with nothing but her undergarments beneath. It was the typical and comfortable sleepwear for her, and she enjoyed the sleek feel of the silk, which usually warmed her when she was cold and cooled her when it was too hot. Not in this case, though. Ino's room proved to be a different story.

So she merely rested her cheek against the chilled wood, letting her hands rest upon it also. Sakura popped the switch of a little green fan in the corner on, though the results were seemingly nonexistent.

Hinata entered shyly, quietly sitting a pillow down in the corner, spreading a lacy blue blanket out upon the floor. Ino tossed her another blanket to sleep under, and she nodded gratefully.

Hime entered, wearing little satin shorts and a semi-revealing camisole, though this was better than the girls expected in the least. Ino grinned cattishly at her. "I've planned a little game for us."

"Oh really?" Hime asked, a smirk crossing her lips.

Ino nodded vigorously. "Good ol' Truth or Dare."

Hinata emitted a little peep of surprise and fear, Tenten replying with a sympathetic glance. Nami giggled. "I love this game!" She squeaked, clapping her hands together as she often did to portray excitement.

Ino snickered quietly to herself. _'Oh, you won't after this, deary...'_

Hime's red eyes flashed, thinking the same cruel thoughts as Ino did. Nami would probably be the first one to end up in tears that night, the two divas presumed.

"Who's gonna start?" Temari asked, glancing around.

Ino's arm rose, her hand flailing. "I'll begin!"

A few of the girls nodded approvingly, still arranging their things.

Ino gave an inspecting look as she surveyed the apprehensive faces, though she already knew her pick. She had to be convincing, or else the edge wouldn't be so cunning.

"Hm... Nami!" Ino announced, throwing her fist down upon the bed. Nami smiled.

"Truth or dare?"

Nami thought a moment, placing her index finger upon her bottom lip, eyes upwards. "Ehm... Truth!" She smiled.

_'Damn.'_ Ino thought, trying to think of a revealing question that would break her.

Then, it came to her.

She smirked deviously. "Well, little Nami... Tell me, have you and Kira... You know..." Ino poked her index fingers together in a telltale gesture that flew entirely over Nami's head. Temari shook her head, snickering. Hinata blushed furiously.

Nami looked confused. "What?"

Ino almost hit the floor. Even _Hinata_ understood. This girl was truly dense. For a moment, she wondered if the dim-wit even knew a thing about the topic.

"Have you... Well... Gotten intimate, so to speak?" Ino asked, her expression suspicious and observing.

Sakura looked at the giddy girl awkwardly, wondering what kind of answer she would give.

Nami furrowed her brow. "Intimate? Like kissing? Yeah, we've done that--"

"NO!" Ino snapped, irritated. Hime rolled back upon her area of Ino's bed, hands about her stomach, cackling madly.

Ino's annoyed face twitched. She was seriously doubting the knowledge of this unknowing girl now.

"DID YOU HAVE SEX?" Ino shouted, Hinata covering her ears and flinching. The shy girl absolutely hated that word. It never ceased to make her flinch, only because the topic was so forbidden. She often wondered what it was like, and she felt dirty because of such thoughts. She she flinched as she always did and retreated.

Nami's eyes grew wide at the blunt question. Then they lowered. "Oh... You mean... Oh, okay, I get it." She perked up with that familiar smile she always wore.

Ino poked her bottom lip out, anticipating the answer she'd recieve, almost certain of the personal question's outcome.

"Nope!" Nami chimed.

Ino fell back with a frustrated and airy sigh, Hime jerking forward with an unbelieving leer. "What? Yeah right! Like hell you haven't slept with him!"

"No, I really haven't--"

"Bullshit!"

Temari giggled, Kurai tracing circles with her right hand's index finger upon the cold floor, listening intently to the controversial shouting, though seeming uninterested in the least. She was good at this, acting as if she didn't care, but picking up on every syllable. She'd be a great spy, she'd decided before, amused.

Nami waved her hands dismissively, brows turned upwards. "I swear we haven't! I don't--"

"Oh, don't tell me you're one of those girls who waits until they're married!" Hime spat, crossing her arms and sitting upright, defiantly. "That's total crap. Sex is great, and what the hell are you gonna know about it whenever you're married if you never experiment? Hm? You'll be total disgrace on your wedding night. A disgrace!"

Sakura blushed as she corrected things upon the little desk beside Hinata's nest, her long pink hair hiding her face. She thoroughly disagreed with Hime's words, and remembered the vow she'd made to refrain from such acts until married.

Nami gave a sheepish giggle and scratch the nape of her neck. Hime scoffed. Ino sat up again, irked. "Okay, good-girl. Your turn."

Nami gave an excited, "Yes!" and looked about. "Ehm... Tenten!"

Tenten froze. She looked at the oblivious girl pleadingly, though this effort went completely unnoticed.

"Truth or dare?"

Tenten hesitated until she firmly decided she would _not_ pick dare. Ever.

"Um... Truth."

"YOU SISSY!" Ino accused, poking a finger in Tenten's direction angrily.

"Okay, well," Nami began, ending Ino's brief rampage.

_'Please oh please, don't be bad, don't be bad, don't be bad.'_ Tenten repeated within her mind, begging, praying it wouldn't be too revealing. _'Please don't be bad.'_

"Who do you like?"

Every ounce of color within Tenten's pink cheeks and tanned face drained to a frightful white, as her heart seemed to stop. This _was_ bad. In fact, this was worse than knocking on Neji's door, naked. Of course, no one really expected she had a deeo affectionate love for him. They just happened to pick Neji, which would prove funny if the prank had gone as planned, seeing as he no apparent sense of humor. At all.

What's worse, Hime was there. Hime was a loud-mouth gossip, the type to make it a set goal to spread every rumor or personal none-of-her-business discovery she ever caught wind of like gasoline and fire. Tenten's blood ran cold. She'd never live this down.

The silence annoyed Ino and Hime. "Well c'mon, Ten. Who is it? I know there's somebody." Ino urged, with sneaky glazed eyes.

Tenten swallowed the difficult lump within her throat. She could always lie. But that wasn't honorable! She _was_ aspiring to be a ninja, after all. What good was a ninja with dishonesty?

This was it, she decided. It was fatal. Ruining. He'd find out, overhear it, be told, _something_. And then he'd hate her. Dismiss her as stupid. Here she was, ruined. It was inescapable, her sad fate. She'd be shot down, laughed at, and discarded, her heart torn in pieces.

_This_ was why she loathed the game.

She wished at that moment she could disappear. She wished she could just vanish. Or rewind time. Either would do.

"Tenten!" Ino persisted, snapping before her distant eyes. Tenten returned to the cruel reality of her inevitable confession. _'Well, here goes nothing.' _She cooed internally, failing to steady her heavy, yet pounding heart.

Hime tapped her cheek impatiently.

"Well... I mean, I don't really..." She stammered, tugging at her trembling fingers, her thoughts racing, trying to grasp _something_ to salvage her from this.

"First, we all need to swear not to tell anyone about what's said here tonight." Sakura suggested, turning to the group with a tiny jeweled trinket in hands.

_'My precious, precious savior.'_ Tenten thought, the tremendous boulder of worry lifted from her shoulders, light as a feather. She gave Sakura a look of pure gratefulness, the pleasant emptiness of relief filling her heart.

"What? No!" Ino protested, peeved.

"It's only fair, Ino." Temari offered, calming the brutal Ino down. If anyone could tell Ino right from wrong, it was the admirable Temari.

Hime huffed. "You guys are ruining this game."

Ino slumped back upon the bed. "Fine. I swear not to tell."

Hinata nodded. "I swear too." Nami grinned. "Ditto!"

"Sworn." Kurai muttered, still doodling upon the floor with an invisible pen.

"Swear." Temari stated, lifting her right hand, then casting a pair of expecting eyes upon Hime, who withered unpleasantly beneath them. "Fine. I swear too." She said, extremely reluctant to seal the ring of delicious gossip.

Tenten felt much better, though she was still embarrassed.

"It's alright, Tenten." Sakura encouraged, fiddling with a little book of Japanese kanji. "G'head."

Tenten heaved a sigh, red flushing all areas of her face as she prepared to speak his name. His forbidden, secret name.

"N-Neji..." She mumbled, ever so quietly.

"Huh?" Ino asked loudly, sitting crossed-legged now, hands on both knees as she slouched over, elbows bowed out.

"N-Neji." She repeated, more audibly now, feeling the urge to crumble into a pile of unnoticeable dust. Maybe there was a technique for that...?

Ino snickered, Hime quickly following. "You're kidding, right?" Hime gasped as her chuckling became louder and heavier. "That guy's a total freak."

Kurai shot her an acidic leer. "Well, as I recall, _you_ wanted to know."

Hime cocked an eyebrow at the 'bravery' of this girl. "_Please_. Out of every fox here, she chooses Neji?"

Tenten winced, deeply offended. Neji wasn't a freak. This Hime knew nothing about him. She tried to dismiss the comments without a word.

Kurai gave a curt nod. "Uh-huh." She said sarcastically. "You know, Ganguro... There's more to people than good looks and sex flings."

Hime was shocked and released an unbelieving gasp. She was thoroughly shocked. No one _ever_ spoke to her that way.

Hinata looked about confused. She began to notice the tension that permeated every region.

"E-Excuse me?" The astonished and indignant Hime breathed. Sakura looked towards the fuming girl with apprehension.

"I'm sure you heard me. Unless of course your ears are as unnecessary as the layers of makeup you wear."

Hime was ready to pounce, her blood boiling. Her temper flared, her eyes glinting with hatred for this witch that said such things about _her_.

Temari held her hands up. "Stop. This is doing neither of you any good. Just calm down."

Kurai shot a quick sneer at the outraged girl. Ino clutched her arm and calmed her, gesturing for the game to continue.

Tenten nodded, now considerably sulky. She'd never been so insulted, even when she was called worthless by stronger opponents. It wasn't so much her as it was Neji. He was a wonderful person. He was her favorite person, and Hime knew nothing, yet she assumed such things. What a shallow mind, Tenten thought, her heart heavy once more. She couldn't defend her beloved, for Hime was already significantly riled.

Tenten cast a sneaky little smile at Kurai, who caught it and returned it.

"Alright... Um... Ino! Truth or dare?" Tenten said, a determined smirk flickering upon her lips. She instantly forgot her indignity as she realized it was time for revenge against those who laughed.

Ino laughed. "I'm no wuss. Dare." She placed her hands upon the back of her neck, letting them rest there, without worries.

Tenten's smirk grew. "Alright. Then I want you to go confess _your_ love to the person you like most here in this complex, right now."

Ino snorted. "Alright."

The girls followed Ino silently down the dark, soundless hall, creeping along without words. Ino trailed ahead, and stopped at Sasuke's door. Sakura frowned, her brow scrunching as she felt a protectiveness grip at her. Damn Ino. Couldn't she pick someone else?

* * *

Sasuke still lay awake, though barely. He watched the swirling motions of the fan blades, and was almost hypnotized by it. His thoughts churned, turning like gears, though his eyes began to close themselves slowly. Sleep began to claim him, little by little, until...

"SASUKE!"

His door was slammed open so violently, his first thought was that it was being ripped by some kind of screeching demon. Ino burst inside with a wide dramatic gesture, leaping upon his bed. He looked at her with disgust and utter shock. This was completely unexpected. Damn those girls' stupid games.

Nonetheless, he was awake now.

"Get out, Ino!"

"Sasuke!" She squealed, throwing her arms about him and squeezing, nuzzling his face with hers affectionately. Sakura beat the wall outside with a clenched fist, instantly regretting it as it bit back, her knuckles throbbing.

"I love you, Sasuke!" She shrieked, rocking him slightly. He began to struggle and attempt to pry the lovestruck girl from him. She clung to him harder then, and he stopped fighting. He trembled with anger, shaking under her smothering acts of affection.

"Ino..." He spoke lowly, his dangerous tone laced with extreme annoyance. His head was hung, shadows covering his closed eyes. This _wasn't_ happening.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

He looked up at her with a brutal twinkle in his eye, the corner of his psychotic smirk twitching rapidly.

"GET THE HELL OFF!"

With that, he freed himself forcefully, pushing her to the doorway. She blew a little kiss and waved and she was pushed out into the hallway once more, the door slamming quickly after.

The girls erupted into fits of laughter, all except Sakura. She looked towards the ground menacingly. She hated her sometimes. That pig.

* * *

"Okay, okay." Ino said. "Sakura, truth or dare?"

Sakura sighed. "Truth."

"Alright. Is there anyone besides Sasuke you like?" Ino probed, leaning in towards her.

"No."

"Aw c'mon! Liar!" Ino teased, chortling. Temari rolled her eyes, smiling and amused.

"There's not."

"Well, that turn sucked. Go, Sakura."

"Okay... Kurai. Truth or dare?" The pink-haired girl directed her attention to the recluse near the door.

"Truth." Kurai replied, without hesitation.

"Alright. I dare you to... To..." Sakura slumped back on her rear, stumped.

Ino gave an impatient sigh. "C'mon! Dare her to kiss Kakashi or something!"

Sakura huffed. That was too risque.

Kurai watched them, expressionless. No dare was too much for her.

"I want you to crawl into someone's bed... With snuggling!" Sakura suddenly felt very bad, and she liked the rush. Ino snickered. "But whose?"

They discussed this for a while, failing to notice Hime's absence. She crawled into the kitchen quietly, opening the large refrigerator and retrieving three bottles of spray whipped-cream. She chuckled devilishly to herself and prepared for an ambush. As she made her way up the stairs and near the room, she could hear them, arguing over who would get a visit from Kurai. Now was the time, she decided.

The door was flung open forcefully, and the girls had only enough time to turn their heads and see their doom before it hit them full on. Whipped cream attacked them and they all squealed and shrieked and jumped about. Hinata was coated in a thick layer of the creamy substance, attempting to shelter herself with a pillow. Ino danced about in the dessert shower, laughing. Sakura ran to the bathroom and retrieved a bottle of shaving cream while Kurai armed herself with a can of mousse. They returned and unleashed, spraying everything in sight, giggling madly.

* * *

Shikamaru sprang up in his bed, hearing the distant feminine shrieks. Fear and instinct made malevolent images float about his mind and he immediately leaped from his bed and into the hallway, where Naruto, Kazuri, and Sasuke stood already. He joined the group and they all determined the screams were coming from Ino's room.

They rushed to it, wondering what was happening. 'Please don't be hurt.' Shikamaru pleaded. He hated seeing her beautiful face in tears, and he was truthfully ready to take on anyone who aimed to hurt her, despite their size or power.

"Hold on! We're coming!" Naruto shouted extravagantly, with a fierce determination.

The blonde threw the door open and stopped, eyes wide and jaw falling.

"Move, dobe!" Sasuke hissed, pushing him from the center of the doorway to get a look at the horror. He cocked an eyebrow, mouth opening slightly as he witnessed the stunned girls, all covered in thick whiteness. Kazuri, taller than the two in the doorway, rested an elbow on Naruto's head, smirking casually. "Now _this_ is what I call entertainment."

Shikamaru shoved through with difficulty, disregarding the strange looks of the other boys. "Ino, are you--" He stopped, mouth gaping in awe. This was like... his most secret fantasy, right before his eyes. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the Ino, who rubbed the whipped cream from her face. "Hey guys." She said with a sheepish wave.

Sasuke scoffed. "I don't know what the hell this is, but it's a waste of time." He turned away, prepared to head back to his room. Reluctantly.

He was male, after all, and the sight of so many girls covered in cream and foam was unbelievably attractive. And, truth be told, he wished he could've watched it.

As he took a step away from the crowded doorway, the silent boy detected something light and sticky hit him in the back of the head and he flinched, knowing immediately what it was. Naruto and Kazuri erupted into a fit of laughter. (Shikamaru was still in a daze, unable to tear his eyes from this surreal fantasy.)

Ino sneered, having aimed a can of mousse directly at him. "You aren't get away from this clean!" She toyed, the other girls cackling. He turned, a dangerous glint in his black eyes.

Kazuri stretched his arms a bit and smiled. "Well, I'm not just standing here. I'm gonna have some fun." He then rushed forward into the sea of white, throwing his arms about the first girl he touched, tackling her to the bed. It was Temari, he soon discovered, and she smirked at him. "What're you doing, lech?"

"Joining in." He returned the smirk. With that, he stole her can of whipped cream and attacked mercilessly, and she squealed playfully, rolling over and sheltering her face.

Sasuke rubbed the back of his head, inspecting the white foam puff left upon his hand. He didn't have time for these games. He began to walk away, though he was pelted again, this time from head to toe. He turned, brow twitching with suppressed rage. He was tired. He didn't want to act so childish. He wanted sleep.

Ino took this opportunity to assault his face, and he was hit directly, staggering back as the foam clung to his nose and loose hair. Ino laughed victoriously, spraying Shikamaru squarely in the face too. This released him from his daze, and he fell the ground, rubbing the foam away viciously. "It's war!" He beckoned, retreating to the nearest bathroom and finding a can of shaving gel. It wasn't foam, but it would do.

He returned and sought Ino, who ran from him, giggling, about the room. Kazuri and Temari both tugged at a can, attempting to get a few cheap-shot sprays in during the wrestle, as the tall boy resorted to tickling. She caved almost instantly, chortling madly and almost rolling off the bed. He caught her before she hurt herself and hoisted her up, tormenting her more.

Hinata ambled into the clearing now, her hair falling heavy about her face, little bits of whipped cream smeared about her clothes and cheeks. She offered a little smile to Naruto, who felt his cheeks burn. She was _hot_. He'd never seen her so enticing before. He took a deep breath and acquired his best game-face, plunging into the cascading white foam, joining the war. He stole a can from the fleeing Ino, hitting Hinata squarely in the rear. She squealed and jumped back, trying to shield herself as he aimed for her face now. He approached her, doing many strange moves, ducking and sliding, hitting her face every time, despite her hand barriers. She laughed, looking for something to retaliate with.

Tenten and Kurai battled each other, sneaking about the room with stealth, shooting at each other with every chance. Hime sprayed Sakura viciously, and they both collapsed on the ground together, laughing.

Sakura grabbed a towel from the room closet and retreated to the hallway, where she found Sasuke sitting against the railing, looking particularly grim. His face was smeared and messy, his hair matted, clothes speckled with bits of cream. She offered him a smile and she ran a lock of her pink hair through the towel. He leered at her a moment and looked forward again. He was obviously peeved.

"Here." She said, offering the towel.

"Hng." He retorted, directing his gaze away from the entertainment of the cream fight.

Sakura hesitated, and she reached forward, using the towel to rub a large smear of mousse from the side of his face. He gave her a testy sideways glance. She then placed the towel upon his head, rubbing some of the foam from it. He didn't feel like fighting back at that time and so he heaved a miserable sigh and closed his eyes while Sakura cleaned him.

Shikamaru had Ino cornered, and so he pounced, forgetting how touchy and uncomfortable she made him feel most of the time. This was different. This was _fun_.

She backed into the closet, just where he wanted her. She was attacked by her assailant, shrieking and sliding down the closet's furthest wall, laughing heartily. She sprang forward, pulling his ankles forward. He crashed backwards, yelping and hitting the hard floor painfully. His rear throbbed, though he forgot this as his can was stolen and he was assaulted in return. He writhed a bit, trying to evade the retaliation, though it was no use. She took a seat upon his chest and emptied the rest of the can on his face, and there was nothing he could do while pinned.

* * *

Kakashi made his way to the chaos, glancing at Sakura and Sasuke in the hallway. He didn't understand the cause of all the racket, and so he stalked towards the door, which was slightly ajar, seeing traces of movement beyond it. Sakura noticed this and perked up. "Ne! Kakashi, wait--!"

It was too late. The door was pushed open and everyone participating in the foam war turned, all cans aimed at the intruder. Kakashi looked on, speechless.

And was covered in every kind of sticky substance imaginable.

Everyone cheered and he turned his back to the party, which was also coated with foam at that time, and he walked back past Sakura and Sasuke, and down the stairs, headed towards his room as if nothing had happened.

Sakura giggled and Sasuke couldn't help the urge to chuckle a bit.

* * *

Ryo beat the ceiling relentlessly with the handle of a toilet plunger. "Shut up!" He shouted. "I'm tired as hell!"

Nothing affected the ruckus, it seemed, and so he slumped down on his bed, defeated. He was just too lazy to walk upstairs and silence them.

"Damn kids..." He muttered, his bottom lip jutting out as he grumbled.

His eyes trailed to his open door suddenly, attracted to the movement.

"Kakashi--?"

The silver-haired Sensei passed by without a glance, covered in thick white foam. Ryo's brows furrowed and rose with confusion. _'What the hell is all that about?'_ He wondered as Kakashi disappeared, not a word said.

* * *

_Okay, so this was just a dumb fun chapter. I can't sya I like this chapter, since I don't like veering away from the seriousness of the fanfiction, but that'll return in the next chapter. Hey, even serious hard-working ninja need spray fights! Dx_

_But lemme tell ya, I'd LOVE a good whipped cream fight, and so here it is. xD No, this chapter isn't productive. It doesn't pertain to the serious storyline. It's just a group of kids trying to have fun before a day of harsh training. Blah._

_Okay, it's productive in one way. Recently I realized that OMG. Temari needs a man. x3 So WHAMO, in comes sehckzeh Kazuri-baby. Now, I'll try to get a sketch of him up at my art site soon, but school is beating the living crap out of me with a stick right now, so that might be... erm... delayed. Sorry folks. Dx_

_BTW. Usagi-sama translates to Lord Bunny in English, which is what Nami named her stuffed rabbit. xD And Ganguro is a style in Japan where you tan really dark and use a lot of white makeup, with light hair, as a contrast thing. It's often a term to cut someone down, though I'm thinking about doing it this summer. xD_

_REVIEWNESS._

_**xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx -** Ah yes, more SasuSaku here. Vague, but existant. xD Anyway, thanks for reviews! And I'll try to make Sasuke jealous... Somehow... xD Things just play out, y'know?_

_**Hao'sAnjul - **I'm glad you like length in chapters. Because sometimes I get carried away and write LOOONG chapters about total crap. Like this one. xD Anyway, thanks!_


	8. Chapter 7: Skills

_Disclaimer: Holy Bejebus. Naruto is NOT MINE.

* * *

_

**COLD FLOWER**

Chapter 7: Skills

By Mokora

* * *

Kakashi ambled up the stairs, running a gloved hand through his grey hair, which poked to the side without the use of any strong-hold hair products. "Ne. Kids. Training day--" He began, only to find the door to the bustling room the night before open wide.

"What's this?" He voiced to himself quietly, giving his chin an inquisitive little tap. He peered inside, curious as to why the kids were up so early, if that was the case. This inquiry was immediately shot down, though, as his unclothed eye fell upon the many slumbering bodies, criss-crossed and overlapping, some snoring loudly.

Ino nuzzled her head into Hime's stomach, smiling in her sleep, Hime and Tenten's heads touching as they splayed across every inch of the bed. Kurai was asleep betwixt the nook of the bed and the wall, huddled together with arms draped around tightly bent knees. Shikamaru lay across the bed, one arm hanging down, at Ino's side. He snored peacefully, while below him, sprawled, was Kazuri, in whom had found a comfortable position for his head upon Temari's lap. The blonde girl's body was turned a bit, resting her crossed arms and chin upon the bed's side, breathing deeply and silently. Nami snored loudly, resting upon Hinata's stomach, in the far end of the room, drooling slightly, Kakashi noticed. Hinata slept upon her nest she'd made, Naruto sharing her blanket and emitting squeaky snores of his own. They were all, of course, covered in corroded and evaporated foam and gel of all kinds. Apparently, no one was up for showers.

Kakashi shook his head a bit, chuckling at how vulnerable the pack of tired bums was at that moment. He refrained from pranks of any kind, and knocked upon the wooden door frame. Loudly. Alright, so _one_ prank wouldn't hurt. After all, the little demons never failed to pull one over on him.

He chortled to himself, highly amused, as Shikamaru tumbled off of the side of the bed, startled. Kazuri woke rudely, to undeniable pain of being elbowed and then head-butted in the stomach by the falling boy, who yelped. Temari woke with a start, seeing as Kazuri was trying to heave the sleepy and dazed bum from his chest, Naruto squeaking from the corner of the room. Hinata stirred at the blonde's startled noise, her movements waking Nami who had a trail of drool flowing down her chin. She looked about wondrously, blinking slowly at the ruffled drones.

Ino was still sound asleep as Hime popped one eye open, annoyed. She was _sleeping_. Why was everyone so noisy? She shifted uncomfortably as Kurai stood silently, stretching and popping stiff joints. Ino still slept deeply, undisturbed by the volume of the room and movements of her 'pillow'.

Sakura, who was formerly hidden from view, poked her head up from behind the bed, hidden in the slim wall and bed crevice at the back of the room. She looked at Kakashi, her eyelids drooping. "W-Wha--?" She asked, her small voice cracking a bit as a yawn overwhelmed her.

Kakashi grinned behind the mask. "Good morning, kiddos. Today is the beginning of our enhancement training. You have exactly one hour to get yourselves ready, so meet us outside at precisely 12:24. Anyone who's late isn't getting lunch." He gave a satisfied nod as the reluctant groans of disappointment from the kids filled the room, and he disappeared down the hall to bribe Midori into making him breakfast.

Hime jumped up, throwing the dreaming Ino onto the bed rather abruptly. Now, Ino stirred ever so slightly, looking about with fogged eyes. "Whas' ever'body doin' up?" She asked, rubbing her left eye. Shikamaru scoffed, cocking his head to the side.

"AN HOUR?" Hime screeched, turning everyone's attention to her dramatic display of utter and complete agony. This was apparently not nearly enough time for her to shower, choose an appropriate outfit, apply makeup, and so on. Ino watched the horror in Hime's face without reaction. She was still half-asleep.

"Gah, this is so bad." The stressed girl said, her crimpy mane frizzed and unkempt. Her eyeliner was smudged and her lack of makeup was apparently rather vexing, tough Ino's face suffered the same condition as Hime's. Of course Ino didn't mind as much. She was nodding off at the moment, the room swirling. Shikamaru nudged her a bit, obtaining a look of genuine annoyance. "C'mon. You only have an hour. Girls take long, right?"

"Mm..." Ino snuggled down into her crossed arm, which rested upon the edge of the bed, the other arm swatting at Shikamaru a bit. "Later."

"There is no later." He persisted. He normally would just leave her, but seeing as she was mostly unconscious, he could say most whatever he pleased.

"Get up!" He thumped her head and she shot him a drowsy glare.

"Leave me alone. I'm tired."

"You'll be hungry this afternoon."

"What does that--?"

"No lunch if you're late."

She was beginning to awaken more and more with this futile, yet continuous conversation, and she began to comprehend the irritated boy's words.

"Late for what?" She was annoyed now, stretching her arms a bit ang giving a big yawn.

"You have less than an hour to get ready for training."

She stopped, eyes wide. An hour? An hour to get ready? Her muscles tensed, and Shikamaru flinched, covering his ears. He knew it was coming.

"AN HOUR? Holy shit!" She stood in one movement and scampered to the closet. Hime had already flew to the nearest bathroom to primp and ready herself. Shikamaru heaved a sigh, sitting upon the ground beside the bed. Those two were _just_ alike. And the _last_ thing he needed was another Ino. One was more than enough. He would swear on that.

"Ne! Should I wear my normal uniform? Or this other--" She had turned in Shikamaru's direction, holding a black skirt and belted sleeveless top to herself, quickly realizing her mistake. She slumped over a bit, her brow furrowing and bottom lip jutting out. He gaped at her with the same expression, his mouth opening a bit to say something.

"As if you could decide." She scoffed and cut him off, shrugging a bit. She turned back to the vast closet, crammed with all sorts of outfits, and turned the question over in her own mind. She was flustered by the lack of others' fashion opinions, having to make such a difficult decision by herself.

Shikamaru shook his head slightly, averting his gaze from the troubled blonde. _'The black one's nice.'_ He thought to himself. As he began to envision her in the outfit he favored, he stopped, shocked by the strange thoughts, and possibly more shocked by the fact that _he_ had an opinion on the matter. He was the _most_ apathetic person alive, he and everyone assumed, but he was opinionated about Ino's clothes. He cursed internally and tried to think of other things.

"Um... The black one... Is it alright?"

Her voice was lower now, almost indignant, as she let her hands rest upon the two troubling clothing options, hanging before her. Her words shattered his churning thoughts about the discovery of a frog in the carpet pattern. He looked up at her and rose a single eyebrow in question, with that same dumbfounded look. She avoided his eyes, wondering if it was a stupid idea to try and get anything out of the lazy ass behind her.

"Yeah." He replied quietly, looking away from her bustling figure, scratching his scalp a bit in an attempt to hide his mildly flushed cheeks. Why was this so embarrassing? She had asked him if an outfit was decent, and he replied. Nothing embarrassing about that.

But... She was Ino. Ms. Pride. And he was Shikamaru. Mr. I-Don't-Care.

So it _was_ embarrassing.

She lit up instantly at the boy's remark and nodded, promptly approaching him and forcing him towards the door. There, she shoved him out and braced her hand on the doorknob. "I gotta change. And no, you can't watch." With that, she poked her tongue out at him.

The door closed and he stuffed his hands in his pockets, plunged into the darkness of the ill-lit hallway. "Keh." He scoffed, shuffling towards his own room slowly. As if he wanted to watch.

He did.

* * *

Hinata yawned quietly, looking about her room for her hooded jacket. Nowhere.

She felt a twinge of worry within her as she wondered what she would do if it was lost forever. Or if she was late. No lunch? That would be the _worst_. She had to find it.

It was rather warm outside, but beneath her jacket was a mere fishnet mesh over and segent of a tank top, ending at her ribs. Wearing only that would bring that sickening feeling of nakedness, and being as shy as she was, it simply wasn't an option. She'd rather be extremely hot than wear her underclothes.

She pulled the t-shirt she'd worn the night before off, feeling the damp semi-dried foam upon it. It smelled nice, like shampoo, and she smiled. She began to reminisce. Oh how nice it had been, feeling so careless and free, playing flirtatious games with her beloved Naruto. He'd sought her also, she remembered, her hopes rising. But then she scolded herself for thinking that he might've ever _liked_ her. There was no way. She was boring and didn't say much. She was plain-looking too. She never thought of herself as pretty.

Sakura and Ino and Hime were all so much prettier. And Tenten and Nami were beautiful too. Kurai was gorgeous, in a different way. All in all, all the other girls blew Hinata out of the water. She sulked a bit as she searched for her coat, overturning many things in her room. She didn't stand a chance at all.

She was nothing. Just a friend.

She scolded herself for not being grateful. It was an honor just to be a friend of the fox boy's. She'd never be so thoughtless again, she decided, losing faith in her search. She'd briefly observed every nook and crevice in the baby pink and lavender room, failing to find her jacket anywhere. She gave an indignant sigh. She'd lost it.

But, as she attempted to remember when she'd had it last, she heard a few knocks from behind. Turning, she immediately froze. Naruto stood in her open doorway, grinning. "Ne, Hinata! Whatcha looking for?"

"My jacket."

"But it's so hot outside today!" He protested, frowning a bit and leaning against the door's white paneling.

She stammered slightly, looking about with pink cheeks, realizing she was wearing only the mesh and tube top she'd dreaded being seen in before. She wasn't pretty, she scolded. She shouldn't wear such things.

Naruto had noticed this, and made an honest effort not to stare. He knew Hinata often interpreted things differently, and she might think she looked strange or something if his eyes lingered upon her, or at least cause discomfort in the insecure girl. She looked good, though. Really good. He wondered if she should wear a jacket at all, though he quickly rejected the thought, seeing as it was Hinata, and suggesting something like that would seem lecherous. And it was.

"Okay... Well..." He glanced about her room a bit, looking for any trace of the missing coat, deciding to help. Or at least try. "Could you wear a different one?"

"I-I guess." She withered beneath his gaze. He was such a cute boy, and she never failed to shrink with intimidation under that all-too-friendly grin of his. Or those round sapphire eyes. She adored every aspect of the rebel blonde, and she'd never speak a word. Ever.

"Well, I'm sure Sakura has one. Or Ino. Lemme go check." He was then trailing down the hall to Sakura's room without waiting for any protest from the shy girl, entering without consent of any kind, and heading to the closet. He sifted past a few shirts, some with dangling ribbons and lace. Yes, she truly was feminine, despite her strength and fighting ability.

"Ah!" He exclaimed, grinning widely as he tugged a thin black-knit sweater down from a hanger. The sleeves came to the elbow, he guessed as he examined briefly, and it was short, coming just below the breast. The middle had two little ties, which you knotted into bows, and it was airy enough for the sunny day. And it was cute. Perfect.

He waltzed back to Hinata's door, who was still searching about the room, retaining hope. "I found something in Sakura's room that might work!" He announced, waving the sweater before himself. Hinata turned and her brows rose in curiosity at the sweater. It was cute, she thought. And Naruto was offering it to her. It was grand.

She smiled a little, approaching him a bit. "Is it alright with Sakura?"

"Sure. She won't care." He offered it to her smile stretched a bit. She bowed before him slightly. "Thank you."

"No problem!" He replied, grinning.

"How much time is left?" She asked, slipping it onto her shoulders.

"Not much. We should probably head down soon. Here, let me tie it for you."

Her heart quickened at the blonde's words. He bent down a bit before her and maneuvered the little strings slowly into a bow. She shifted her head and hands nervously, demanding the red in her cheeks die, wishing and praying that he wouldn't see.

"Done!" He proclaimed, stepping back and looking her over. She turned her head, trying desperately to shadow her coral-flushed face.

He gave a playful thumbs-up gesture in her direction, winking. "Works like a charm!"

"T-Thanks, but I--"

"Woah! It's almost time! Let's go, so we can eat later!" He said, heading for the doorway and turning back, waiting for her. She followed without a word, showing only a timid smile and a healthy pink face. He walked with her down the stairwell and then followed her outside.

* * *

Kiba ran a thin little comb through his messy coconut-brown hair. "Ne, Akamaru, you ready?"

The little white dog replied with a squeaky 'Roof!' and wagged his tail merrily while the Inuzuka readied himself.

"We only have a little bit of time left. If we get some free time," The boy suggested, pausing momentarily to pull a t-shirt on. "Wanna go for a walk in the woods or something?"

The dog gave an agreeable high-pitched yip, and Kiba grinned. "Alright, then remind me about that when we're free. C'mon, let's go."

As if on cue, the cheery little dog leaped into his master's welcoming arms, promptly crawling onto the boy's shoulders and then hoisting himself atop the boy's head, sitting.

Kiba flipped the lights off in the dusty room as he exited, smiling. He wondered what kind of training the Senseis had planned for them. Whatever it was, he'd conquer, he decided with determination. Nothing was too much for this duo.

* * *

Sakura approached Sasuke's door, and stopping before mustering enough will to knock. _'Why do I always hesitate?' _Sakura chastised, frowning a bit. _'Why am I always nervous? It's not like he would hurt me or something.'_

But sometimes he did. Asking her to leave, or dropping hints she'd catch that let her know he didn't request her presence. _'So that's why.'_

She knocked quietly upon the door, which always gave off strange and chilling vibes, always making her rather apprehensive. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah?" Came the hooded reply.

"You ready? Time's almost up."

"Yeah."

She stopped. She didn't want to anger him by her undeniable persistence, though she worried that he might be late.

"You should go soon." She said, hoping internally that she wouldn't irritate him.

She jumped a little as the door opened and the raven-haired boy's ebony eyes met hers for an instant. He then wept past her, down the hall, towards the stairs. She watched his figure recede, heaving a shaky sigh. He obviously wasn't in one of his nicer moods like he had been before.

"You coming?" He called from the first step, not bothering to meet her eyes, which were wide with bewilderment. He wanted her to go with him? He didn't prefer to attend the meeting alone?

"Uh, yeah!" She said, significantly more cheerful now that the boy had requested her company, which she would never deny. She couldn't. She loved him, and even though he'd refused her many times before, he'd certainly never attempted to wait for her when she stalled. But he had now, and it was progress.

She trailed after him, smiling. The two walked together and out of the building, wordless, which was enough for the love-stricken girl. Sasuke made his way to the sunny open area where a few trees stood tall and pleasantly shady, the ground alternating with patches of golden dirt and small-bladed grass. Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Shino, Hime, Yoshie, Razu, Kurai, Gaara, Temari, Kankurou, Jouri, and Kira had already arrived at the area, some chatting, some remaining completely silent.

Tenten and Lee then exited the building, Tenten approaching Temari and Kurai, Lee directing himself towards Naruto and Neji. Kairi then appeared, yawning, only half-awake. It was noon, and he was still tired, and it was obvious that he had no desire whatsoever to train at all. This was apparent in his large dramatic frown and droopy eyes as he gazed about at the crowd.

Kakashi appeared before the group with a swift and unseen movement, Midori, Kurenai, Asuma, and Ryo appearing soon after. Sen seemed to appear when no one noticed, popping up behind Midori with a fierce scowl. Gai made a large entrance, leaping onto the scene with a loud 'YOSH!' and hopping into an upright stance beside Kakashi and Ryo, grinning and letting his teeth sparkle. As they always did.

"Who's missing?" Ryo asked excitedly, expecting to thoroughly enjoy eating in front of the most unpunctual pupil(s).

"AH! Hold up!" Came a voice from afar. Everyone's gaze was cast toward the building, Nami flinging herself out of the door and racing to the group, breathing rapidly. Kira gave the girl a sympathetic look and patted her head. She gave a melancholy little sigh. Kakashi scratched his head. "No lunch today, Nami."

She nodded obediently, yet reluctantly. Kira sighed.

Kazuri appeared behind the crowd then, seeming to rise from nowhere. Nami blinked at the boy, wondering why she hadn't seen him approach. His speed was superb, she concluded.

"Kazuri. You're late." Midori said, crossing her arms and obtaining a look of hopelessness, as if to say 'I'm really not surprised.'

"Like always." She added reproachfully.

He chuckled with a sheepish look. "Somebody drugged my orange juice. I was totally wasted. Honest."

Midori gave a huffy sigh, irritated. "I don't know what to do with you!" She huffed again and ran a hand through her stringy black hair. "Just shut up and don't expect lunch."

He gave a little sigh, his shoulders slumping a bit as he accepted the defeat of his feeble lie.

"Alright." Kakashi said cheerfully, holding up an index finger. "Over the next five days, you kids will undergo a series of intense physical, mental, and emotional training."

Midori cleared her throat a bit and nudged the masked Sensei. "Kakashi." She hissed quietly, out of the corner of her mouth.

"...Yes?" He asked, leaning towards her a bit, his cheery expression unchanging.

"Um, there's really nothing emotional here. It's just physical and mental."

"Ah." He stood upright again, batting a closed fist against his throat and clearing it. "Ahem. Physical and mental. That's all you get."

Midori chuckled quietly to herself.

"This rigorous training will test your level of stamina, agility, logic, physical ability, teamwork, chakra control, problem solving, defense, speed, and ability to think quickly in difficult situations. You'll most likely be injured, feel varying physical pain, become angry at one another, be defeated, fail missions, be insulted, let one another down, face personal and emotional setbacks, and shed tears." He wiggled the index finger. "Shall we begin?" His brow rose in a merry gesture. For such a harsh statement, it was rather irking that he was so cheerful. Ino rolled her eyes at the man's antics, and Sakura sighed.

Ryo stepped forward now. "And if you screw up too bad, then you'll have a hard time passing. So don't be a total failure. Or it's over for you--"

He was promptly elbowed in the stomach by Midori, who shot him a frustrated glare. He recoiled, whimpering quietly.

"What he means is that you'll be graded and observed throughout the training. Don't worry about failing, just do your best. Tsunade is running the medical wing for anyone who experiences injuries of any kind." She smiled, clapping her hands together. "We have faith in you!"

"YOSH!" Gai shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

A few groans arose from the crowd, one of the additions being Shikamaru. 'Rigorous training' was the _last_ thing he desired. Especially for five days. He rested his forehead in his palm, prematurely miserable.

"For today's training session," Kurenai began, her eyes stern and serious. They danced about, resting upon the young ninja faces. "You'll be divided into three groups. You've been sorted according to your own abilities, and you'll be faced with various situations provided by the Senseis, that will test and challenge your ability of defense."

Gaara scoffed. His defense never gave him much of a choice.

"First team, Kakashi, Midori, Ryo. Sasuke, Kiba, Kurai, Shikamaru, Naruto, Razu, Jouri, Sakura, Ino. Second team, Gai, Asuma. Lee, Chouji, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Temari, Yoshie, Kazuri. Third team, Sen, Kurenai. Shino, Gaara, Kira, Kankurou, Nami, Hime, Kairi." Kurenai announced. The crowd divided into three sections, according to the female Sensei's instructions, and then waited for further instructing.

"First Team, you'll be tested mentally. Second Team, you'll be tested physically. Third Team, you'll each be tested according to your own abilities. Training day one has begun." The coal-haired woman bowed her head a bit and made her ways towards Sen, who was scolding Kairi for talking during Kurenai's announcements.

Kurai sighed. It was always mental. Those who were more skilled with ninjutsu and genjutsu were tested mentally, to use their mental capacity to detect attacks and illusions. The second team was for those more so skilled with taijutsu, using physical combat attacks. They'd be tested physically, against challenging odds. The third team was more specific, testing those who had more one-of-a-kind abilities.

The pale girl strode towards her Sensei, looking particularly glum. "You'll be under my wing, with Sasuke and Ino." He said cheerily, giving a thumbs-up gesture. Kurai scoffed quietly, looking towards the dark boy. Sasuke. He was extremely powerful, she could feel whenever he was near, and she'd heard that he'd successfully ended the life of Itachi, an important pawn of Akatsuki. This was quite an accomplishment, and she doubted any training would better his skills that were already surpassing that of the Senseis.

Ryo led the three into the forest, humming quietly under his breath. Kurai knew the song all too well, considering ever time he desired to hum, it was always that same tune. Sasuke tried to ignore Ino's obvious attraction as they ventured deeper into the forest. Kurai fell behind the other three, silent, with wistful eyes. She loved forests.

"Alright. This'll do." He said, stopping when the group had reached a significantly open area. "Kurai, you're up first." He said, giving a grin and ushering the other two into the thick foliage, until unseen.

"Are you going to throw kunais?" Kurai asked, her voice ringing in the thick silence of the somber wood.

"Precisely!" Came his voice, though it could be traced from many directions. He'd used a chakra-splitting technique, she noted, to disguise his location. She knew this training well, since it was his personal favorite. He would throw kunais, shurikens, and rocks. She would have to detect them or dodge them, or else she was hit, which was unpleasant. She tensed, clearing her mind of any distractions. Her only thoughts were success and determination.

The first kunai was thrown.

It whizzed toward her from behind, and her senses picked up upon this. Thus, she whirled about and caught it between the first two fingers of her right hand, tossing it to the ground.

A shuriken came, this time from the front. It was caught easily also, and another came, from above. She was forced to dodge this one, sliding out of the way just in time.

This continued, with her catching every object thrown, until a startled bird cawed and took flight into the sky, rustling a few branches from a large tree nearby. She made the mistake of looking towards the disturbance, rewarded with a burning pain in her left shoulder. She stumbled forward a bit, clutching the origin of the searing pain, feeling the warm liquid seep through her sleeve.

"Dammit." She hissed, pivoting sharply as her senses detected another projectile. She caught it with the hand that didn't clutch her wound, breathing shakily, holding the red kunai by its hilt.

_'Wait,'_ She thought, fear striking her heart. It was his trademark. _'Exploding kunai!'_ She shouted internally, her eyes widening.

It erupted just as she tossed it, being thrown back by the sparks and smoke. Her arms, which flew up to shield her face, were mildly burned by the trick weapon, and she coughed ferociously as the smoke rose, thoroughly disappointed in her failure.

"Pay attention." Came his voice. "If you're wounded in battle, you can't let the pain distract you. Or you're through."

What he said was true, and she clearly detected the next approaching object, catching it swiftly within a burned hand. Then another, and she was redeemed, not a weapon slipping past her.

Ryo emerged after the last kunai was thrown, smiling, nearly tripping on a small bush before him. "You did well."

"Keh." She unwound the bandage about her left calf and began to tie it around her bloody shoulder, silently.

"Alright Ino! You're next!" Ryo said, grinning at the blonde. She tied the ninja band about her head and gave a determined smirk.

* * *

Naruto huffed. His training team was a ridiculous freak show, he'd decided, after seeing Razu slay a mouse and carry its dead carcass on his head. Thankfully, Shikamaru was there also, so it wasn't _so_ bad.

But that _mouse_...

Midori stopped as they reached a deep part of the forest, turning to them. None of the boys seemed to be paying any attention.

Thus, three shurikens were thrown in their directions.

Naruto dodged his, exasperated at how close a call it had been. Shikamaru's eyes merely detected it and he leaned his body to the side, satisfied to hear the little weapon plunge into the tree he leaned upon. Razu showed no sign of detecting the assailant, though he reached for the large wooden paddle on his back and brandished it before himself. The star lodged itself within the paddle a bit, and Razu cackled, as if to say 'Nice try.'

Midori smiled. "That was just to get your attention."

Naruto huffed again.

The female Sensei pointed to three trees, the largest ones in sight. "In one of these trees, there are three eggs in a nest. Your job is to locate the nest, retrieve an egg, and bring it to this circle, unharmed." She traced a little circle in the dirt before her with the tip of her sandal. "I'll play the role of the villain here, doing various things to try and stall you or ruin your mission. The point of this technique is for you to retrieve something during a dangerous situation and keep it safe. Shikamaru, you're first."

Shikamaru sighed and crawled up into the nook of the nearest tree, gazing about for a nest. A few shurikens flew by, and he began to trace the branches more quickly. One grazed his knee, and he felt it sting as blood surfaced. He leaped down swiftly as another zoomed past his head and he grimaced. On to the next tree.

There, he found the nest, though it was on the highest branch, and he hissed a curse. He began to climb, a kunai slicing the side of his calf.

_'Just keep climbing.'_

He reached the branch below the nest's and outstretched and arm, probing around i nthe nest until grasping a cold egg in his palm. Now to keep it form cracking. He rolled his eyes and leaped down, branch by branch, a shuriken jabbing his shoulder and remaining there. He winced and jumped ot the ground, racing for the ring in the dirt, that would mean he passed.

Three kunais flew towards him. He quickly pulled his arms from his jacket, jumping out of the way just as the weapons zipped by. He tied the egg tightly in his jacket, knowing he couldn't risk getting stabbed by another round of kunais. He wasn't sure if the egg would survive the trip, though he swung it about his head a few times, to gain momentum, and then hurled it, according to his estimated measurements.

Naruto watched with unease as the bundle flew through the air and towards the target. It hit a foot away from the ring and bounced a few times, landing within it finally. Midori surfaced from the thick forest and gave a smirk.

"Let's see if your ingenious little plan worked."

She lifted the bundle and untied it. There was a pause, Shikamaru anticipating the verdict.

She looked towards him and smiled. "Good work."

He gave a triumphant sneer and fell back against a tree.

"But you didn't make any effort to dodge a single weapon. And it was far too risky. If that were a valuable item in a real situation, throwing would not be an option." She scolded, crossing her arms.

The lazy boy's eye twitched. "Dodging is too troublesome." Was his blatant excuse. He gave a little sigh. Did women always nag?

"Naruto! You're up!" Midori turned to the blonde, who strode into the open, wearing a look of unease.

"The nest has been moved by the birds that own it. You must start all over." She said, before disappearing into the woods. "Begin!"

The blonde took off towards the tree Shikamaru hadn't checked, scrambling up and keeping his eye out for flying weapons. One headed in his direction, so he quickly dropped to the nearest branch and fell back, hanging by the bends of his knees. He swung himself up again and continued, jumping to the side quickly as two shurikens flew at him.

He took this absence of threats to gaze about. "There!" He hissed, grinning, locating the nest.

A shuriken was hurled towards him and impaled him squarely above the top of his left sandal. "OUCHIES!" He shrieked, tumbling from the tree. He hit the ground hard, dust arising. He removed the shuriken from his leg and cursed at it, hurling back from where it had come. Two more sailed towards him. He yelped and scurried back up the tree, missing them.

Shikamaru shook his head, chuckling softly.

Naruto moved more quickly now, his leg throbbing. He climbed higher and higher until he was sitting adjacent to the little nest, bearing two blue eggs. He took one and gave it a large goofy grin. "DONE!"

But at that moment, a shuriken soared towards him, stabbing the hand that clutched the precious egg. It released the item, of course, and Naruto quickly forgot the pain. He dove after the egg without thinking and hit three branches on the way down, stabbed in the side with a kunai along the way, and hitting the ground more roughly than before.

The egg landed upon his messy hair, rolling off into his palms. "YES!" He rejoiced, despite the seering pain he felt, his grin returning.

The joyous boy laughed at his victory, only to have a kunai thrown at him, piercing the egg into two jagged shells, its contents spilling upon his hands.

"WHAT?" He shrieked, overcome with rage. He had won! But then--! "DAMMIT!"

The sound of rapid wings could be heard overhead, and before the blonde knew, two large black birds were upon him, pecking and slicing at his flesh. "WHAT THE HELL? GET OFF! HELP! HEEEEELP!" He cried, breaking into a run, the birds following close behind.

Midori gave a sheepish laugh and scratched her head. "Um, I forgot to mention that the eggs belong to those two birds. If you break one, well... They get angry..." She said, brows turned upwards with guilt.

"WHAT?" Naruto screamed, outraged. "WHAT THE HELL KINDA SENSEI ARE YOU?"

Midori snapped her fingers and pulled a small flute form her pocket. She blew four notes into it and the birds ceased Naruto's destruction and flew towards the woman, one resting on each shoulder.

Shikamaru looked towards Naruto, who was almost seizing on the ground with pain, anger, and confusion. Razu cackled, thoroughly amused.

* * *

_Oh Lordy, I loved writing the ending. xD That is SO something that would happen to Naruto. Which is funny. x3_

_Anyway, thanks for reviews, guys! I'll be introducing a new character hopefully in the next chapter. I hope you all like her. xD She's spunky and outgoing, and her name's Miake Rei. Just a heads-up._

_So yeah, I figure Kiba will have a bigger role in this too. Because he is definitely one of my favorite characters. And Akamaru? Nothing short of precious. I love the yips he makes! x333_

_WTF, time for reviews._

_**Kaeru Soyokaze -** Why thank you. xD I try to keep everyone in character, since it's DAMN hard sometimes. Dx And, as I said, I wish I could throw parties like they can. o.o But I can't. u.u And the OCs are supposed to be tolerable, since I know LOTS of people don't like OCs. I tried to make them in-depth and funny/nice/interesting, like the real characters that we luv. Thanks for your kind words!_

_**xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx - **I wanted to put more guys in there, but I figured it would be really strange, since there are only 1/3 girls, and 2/3 guys. Meh, if you really want to know, I plan on making a chapter where the Senseis leave for a night, and they whip out the liquor. xD Naughty kids are only 15, but what the hell. xDDD Yeah, they get SLAMMED. I hope that's another awesome party too. xD Kairi will most likely be the one who gets infatuated with Sakura, since I already set Kazuri to Temari, and, well... Jealous Sasuke is good. x3 I thought the Kakashi part was funny too, since I could totally see that happening, him getting totally covered and just leaving without a word. xD Thanks!_


	9. Chapter 8: Enemies

_Disclaimer: (Insert witty remark saying I don't own Naruto here.)_

* * *

**COLD FLOWER**

Chapter 8: Enemies

By Mokora

* * *

Sasuke had passed the kunai test with flying colors, just as Kurai had suspected he would. Ino cheered loudly for him, though she only succeeded in distracting him, though this was unnoticable as he caught every kunai with unbelieving ease. He put Kurai's agility to shame, she saw, which amused her. Her teammates had never done that. But, it _was_ Kira and Razu, after all.

As she sat upon the low branch of a younger tree, she thought back to Sasuke's testing. She remembered the three exploding kunais Ryo had thrown, due to his obvious frustration. Ryo felt overshadowed by this prodigy of fighting boy, almost intimidated, and thus, he upped his game. Still no use, whatsoever. Sasuke deflected them easily with the soles of his shows and the metal of his Konoha headband.

She obtained a smug smile as she the image of Ryo's defeated and annoyed scowl returned to her mind, that he wore after Sasuke's training. She praised the boy for this, since Ryo tended to be rather coky at times. But now she had ammunition against the glamorous Sensei, in which she could always say, 'Well, that Sasuke sure stood you up.'

Yes, much praise for the boy.

Sasuke looked towards her out of the corner of his eyes for an instant, noticing the far look within her white eyes. He wondered what she was contemplating, seeing as she was more like Shikamaru, always thinking things over. Though, she was much more serious and dedicated, which made her more unlike the lazy boy than she was alike. Though he did suspect she was most likely as intelligent as he.

Ino plopped down in the grass beside Ryo, who was draining a soda quickly. She looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow and watching his adam's apple bob up and down as he made loud throaty swallows.

"Ah!" He said, grinning, extending the empty can forward and crushing it within his palm with ease.

_'Showoff.'_ She thought, amused.

He glanced around at the faces of the three pupils. Ino looked curious. Kurai, completely disinterested and spacy. Sasuke, irritated. He narrowed his eyes at the lack of determination. He might be abke to get away with a long break if he could think of some excuse...

"Alright, pups. Break time. I'll be back... soon." With that, he took off out of the woods. It was definitely a good time for a nice hot bowl of yakisoba.

Ino's jaw dropped. "Wha--? WAIT!" She shouted, taking off after him. Sasuke sighed, sitting upon the ground. Kurai, returning from her daze, simply shook her head, remembering all the times he'd used the, 'Hey! What's that behind you?' And bolted.

"Such a child." She accused quietly, wondering when he or Ino would return.

Sasuke said nothing.

* * *

Sakura gave a hopeless sigh. A break? Of course Kakashi would assign a break, at such a short notice. She looked at her two teammates, Kiba and Jouri, who seemed rattled by the man's antics. She offered a little smile towards the two. "Maybe we should take breaks too, hm?"

Kiba gave a little sigh, as Akamaru hid himself within his jacket, the bulge the little dog created wiggling frantically. "Yeah, sounds good. I promised Akamaru a walk."

With that, he stood and stretched. "Come get me if he comes back, alright?"

Sakura nodded and Jouri took off on his own path, wordless, receding into the forest. Sakura looked after the two and sighed. Of course, _she_ was alone.

She took a seat upon the lush grass in the clearing, splotches of sunlight warming her face through the crevices of the thick leaves overhead. She sighed and closed her eyes, falling back. She loved the feeling of her hair splaying across the tickly grass, the sun's light filling her wondrous eyes, little pink and white flowers caressing her bare arms. A bee hovered by, humming robotically, landing upon the tip of her sandal. She smiled at it, watching it rub its eyes with its two front legs, its wings translucent and glistening. It took flight once more and up into a nearby tree. Her eyes followed it until it was gone, and even then, they lingered. She was left to her thoughts, with no one there to keep her company. She was far too social, she'd decided reproachfully. Things just weren't as entertaining without others.

But Sasuke... Well, Sasuke preferred to live like that.

She frowned wistfully, looking up at the intricate patterns of the interweaving leaves and branches. She thought back to what Sasuke had said before leaving, that all-too-fateful night.

_'You really are annoying.'_

She closed her eyes tightly. No! She wasn't! He was just saying that. He was lying.

But who was she trying to convince?

_'You're pathetic.'_

Her mouth twitched with anger as her inner voice began its lecturing.

_'Am not.'_

_'Are too.'_

_'How so?'_

_'Look at you! You can't even sit in the grass without thinking about him. He doesn't like you. He told you that, to your face.'_

_'Shut up.'_

_'Denial...'_ The voice sang.

She bit her bottom lip.

_'I don't care what he says. I'll never leave him.'_

_'That's why you're pathetic.'_

_'How does that make me pathetic?'_ She internally shouted at the rival, her brow furrowing. _'I care about him! There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind! It's not that easy! Don't you think I've tried? You were there! You witnessed everything, even my own personal thoughts and feelings. Don't dare try to tell me I'm foolish for caring!'_

But suddenly, her eyes popped open as she emitted a small gasp.

"Am I losing my mind...?" She whispered quietly to herself, staring up at two bluebirds, perched high in a towering tree.

She had just attempted to argue with herself, a figment of her own imagination. She had tried to convince the tormenting little voice that she wasn't wrong, and that someday, he would care.

She had tried to convince herself. But she hadn't succeeded.

_'You idiot.'_ It scolded.

_'I know.'

* * *

_

Kiba sighed, Akamaru wandering off into a bush nearby to 'take care of business'.

"Take your time." He said flatly, pondering how long it would be before Kakashi found his way back to the training area. Then the thought of the quirky man forgetting completely entered his mind and he deflated, brow twitching. It was going to be a _long_ walk.

Suddenly, his brooding thoughts were shattered, his senses flaring. His nose twitched involuntarily as a new smell surfaced. It was almost fragrant, yet very faint and at most, undetectable. He froze, completely still, while letting his ears pick up on the slightest noises.

The sing-song chirping of a small bird, the cool breeze, a honey bee.

But he was disappointed to hear no sound of anything that might be lurking nearby. He was considerably paranoid at this time, letting his eyes dart to anything within his surroundings that moved, narrowing them in suspicion. Something wasn't right. He wasn't alone.

He turned and glanced behind, feeling slightly foolish as the lack of threat was confirmed. He sighed, relaxing a bit, and turning back around.

"Ne, Akamaru! How long does it take?" He asked loudly with unease, still glancing about for danger.

Two eyes watched him from within the top of the branches overhead, narrowing as the beholder noticed the two red marks upon the cautious boy's face. The dark figure crept forward a bit, along the branch it was perched upon, much like a cat.

Kiba looked upwards. He'd heard something. He knew. There was something there, though he failed to hear any more of the mysterious and distant sounds. He glared at nothing in particular, and hated the feeling of being foolish, or tricked. Maybe his imagination was playing mere games with him. He cocked an eyebrow and kicked at the dirt before him, still occasionally letting his eyes drift upwards. That ruffling feeling that he was being watched kept entering his mind while he waited for his less than punctual companion.

The figure took a deep breath and unsheathed one of its weapons almost soundlessly. It consisted of a small circular blade, though, when manuevered correctly, it popped into accurate position, releasing another larger circular blade that surrounded the other, with knife-like ends and a dangerous glint.

_'You'll get what you deserve.'_ The unknown pursuer thought, eyes narrowing.

Then, at that moment, Kiba picked up on louder noises, like the scuffling as something took flight from a tree and a battle cry, whirling about as fast as he could, only to see the fleeting image of another person plunging down towards him. This figure weilded a large ring-blade, he discovered, and immediately flew back with the instinct of extreme terror. He emitted a choked cry as he tumbled backwards, the stranger pummeling him in the stomach painfully, knocking him to the ground.

He was in shock, in the least, and he merely lay there with eyes shut so tightly he felt a headache creeping about. He waited for the tell-tale sound of the blade swiping his flesh, most likely his neck, and trying to decipher the thousands of thoughts that danced about his mind.

_'Why do I have to die so suddenly?'_

_'Will I get to say goodbye to Akamaru?'_

_'Who is this person?'_

_'Am I dead already?'_

The dust settled about him, and he ached as all muscles in his body tensed. He decided to take the risk and open one eye, slightly, immediately taking in tiny particles of dust that made it water. Though, through the discomfort of is eye's condition, he was able to see his pursuer, straddling his chest, with the ring-blade pressed against his throat. His eyes blurred as he strained to see the face of the stranger, feeling the cool weapon's edge against his neck, as his rapid pulse beat against it.

Then, his eyes focused, and he squinted with both eyes now to see it was... a female?

He clenched his muscles further, seeing the loathing look within this girl's eyes. Who was she? What did she want?

He began to notice her features more clearly now, in the absence of any sound whatsoever, as time seemed to stop for a moment.

She was prominent and built with strength, he thought, observing her toned shoulders. She had bronze skin and brownish-green eyes, that faded into gold around the pupil, which itself was a strange indigo color. She wore fishnet about her neck, covered in a strapless fabric top, that zipped down the center. She also wore capri-style pants like Hinata's, the only difference being the rich burnt-red color. Her hair was sandy-blonde, choppy and short, falling about her earlobes. There were two longer pieces protruding from the front, dyed deep brown, that hung on each side of her face. Her bangs were short and choppy as well, vaguely sideswept. Her lips were full and peachy in color, her eyes lined attractively with black, the lids covered in a dusty bronze color. The ninja headband she wore was made as a bandana, tied about herh ead much like Sakura's, and pointed at the tip. The plate was engraved with a leaf design, meaning she was a native to Konoha.

Her brow furrowed as she pinned him to helplesslness, obviously serious as she brandished her death-tool against his neck.

His chest heaved as he breathed with difficulty, each ragged breath making his heart beat a little faster. The two looked at each other intensely for the longest time. She threw her head back a bit and leered at him.

"What's your name?"

He didn't particularly want to answer, though he feared he had no choice.

"Kiba... Inuzuka Kiba." He rasped, beads of sweat forming upon his brow.

Her mouth curled into a sneer.

"Just as I thought." She snapped, her eyes narrowing. "An Inuzuka."

He stopped, and observed her more deeply now. The only clan the Inuzukas seemed to feel bitter towards in Konoha was the Miake clan, but she couldn't be...

The eyes.

Her pupils weren't black, like any other average person. They were purple, a deep purple. This was a tell-tale trait of the Miake clan.

His realization was rewarded with a bitter taste within his mouth as he replied hoarsely with a scowl, "You're a Miake."

She smiled, and said with an acidic underlying sarcasm, "Good work, flea boy! I'm Miake Rei, in case you wanted to know. But learning anything new right now won't do you any good."

The blade was pushed into his neck a bit more, and, though the movement was very slight, it was detectable and rather frightening.

He decided he had to act quickly, or else he'd be finished. She was definitely going to play a few more games and finish it. It was clear in her the muderous look in her hunter eyes, fangs of her own showing within that victorious smirk.

Such a shame, he thought distantly, within the back of his charging mind. She was sort of cute.

Not as cute as Hinata, though.

Just as he was desperately trying to work out some sort of escape plan that would lead to her unconsciousness, (he didn't have the heart to kill her, despite her lack thereof,) he heard a far 'Yip!' and little feet scampering near.

_'Akamaru!' _He thought, his eyes widening. _'No, she has a blade!'_

The little white dog saw his master in obvious peril, and thus, charged without thoroughly thinking. The girl, Rei, looked up with frustrated question just as the dog tackled her backwards, barking ferociously. Kiba sat up and crawled towards the biting dog.

"DAMMIT! Get off me, mutt! Get off! GET THE HELL OFF!" She shrieked, trying to pry the dog away from her as it gnawed upon her bandana, refusing to let go. It had taken a path of hair within its teeth also, therefore her demands were mostly derived from the pain.

"Ow ow ow! GET OFF!"

Kiba wondered why she hadn't just picked up the blade beside her and removed the loyal dog _that_ way. She seemed the type to do so, anyway.

"Akamaru! Come here!" Kiba ordered.

The little white dog whimpered a bit and withered under Kiba's fierce gaze, releasing the bandana slowly and backing off of the girl's lap, never taking its eyes from her. She leered at it, brow twitching with frustration.

Kiba looked down at the dog to quickly examine for wounds, and, upon deciding he was fine, looked back towards the girl.

"You okay?" He asked hesitantly, wondering why he bothered at all, after the scare she'd given him.

She looked at him as if her were a ghost. "W-Why do _you_ care?"

"Look, I don't like to kill people I don't know. I don't like to kill at all, really." He picked the dog up. "I know your clan hates mine, but it would be really nice if you wouldn't try that again."

She looked towards the ground, turning his words over in her mind.

"That dog. Akamaru, is it? You own him?"

"Well, yeah. He's like... A best friend to me." He stroked the dog's head.

She laughed rather loudly, startling the boy. "Wait, wait, wait..." She said, still laughing. "You're saying... That _that_ mutt... Is your best friend?"

His brow twitched at her underlying insults, and he sighed. Akamaru growled.

"Yeah."

A new hearty laugh surfaced and she grinned. "Alright, alright, Inuzuka Kiba. I won't hurtchu." She stood and dusted her pants off, retying her bandana with skill.

Kiba glared at the girl, wondering why she was wandering the woods at all.

"What are you doing here anyway?" He asked, his voice annoyed.

"Well," She began, looking towards the sky as she thought. "I ran away."

His eyes narrowed. "You're a runaway?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Hm, curious, are we? Well, I guess I just disagree with my clan, really."

"THEN WHY THE HELL DIDJU ATTACK ME?" He shot back, fists clenched.

"Calm down, tiger!" She said, throwing her hands up and grinning. "That doesn't mean I don't disagree with one of you asses breaching our treaty."

"IT WAS A MIAKE!"

"Sure! Of course that's what _they'll_ say!"

"I can't believe this..." He grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"Well, if you're so convinced that a Miake did it, why didn't you fight me?" She asked, crossing her arms with a cocked brow.

He heaved a sigh. "Because I don't know you."

"So? I'm an enemy."

"It doesn't matter."

"Weakling!"

"WHAT?" He turned, a dangerous glint in his eyes. She promtply poked her tongue out at him.

He took a deep breath. "I'm leaving." With that, he walked towards a thick patch of trees, Akamaru crawling inside his jacket snugly.

"Wait!" She said, looking around with narrowed eyes.

He turned. "What?"

"I heard something."

"Please..."

"No, seriously. It sounded like it came from over there." She pointed towards the trees behind her.

"Nice try. I'm leaving."

"Hold up! It's not--"

A shuriken flew beside his face grazing his cheek. He felt the minor sting as a drop of blood flowed from it, and he was overcome with anger.

"What are you trying to pull?" He accused, whirling about and stopping as he saw a strange man appear from the thick trees. His eyes widened.

Rei was frozen, leering at the stranger. She dropped slowly and braced her hand upon the ring-blade.

"I wouldn't do that, dear." The man's voice was melodic and mesmerizing. His eyes bore into her like a thousand knives, and she felt extremely uneasy beneath his gaze.

The man's skin was tan, with a prominent forehead and set black eyes. His hear was copper-colored and cut extremely short. Two grey stripes rose from each brow line, stopping at a point below the hairline. He scowled at the two, a large sword at his side.

"What do you want?" Kiba managed to choke, surprised at how confident he'd sounded. Akamaru quivered within the safety of the boy's coat, his eyes peering out towards the mysterious man.

Rei's hand didn't grip the weapon, nor did it retreat, as she continued to stare. The man let his eyes trace the two younger ninja, looking them over thoroughly. He cleared his throat slightly.

"You look to be Inuzuka. And you, Miake. You both seem to be at least fifteen years of age. No... sixteen." He continued to observe them, while they found their bodies wouldn't move at all. How did this man know so much?

"You're far from clan grounds. You must be a runaway." He said, nodding in the girl's direction. Her brow twitched as she cringed. So, he was intelligent.

"And you? Probably one of the trainees. You both seem fairly strong, though I can't seem to estimate your limits. Hm. Strange. And the dog..." He said, pasuing while he examined the frightened bundle from a distance. "...Must be a good dog."

"Who are you?" Rei snapped, startling Kiba.

The man turned. "Arashi."

And he receded, without another word.

* * *

Sakura was almost asleep upon the bed of grass, when her ears picked up on the sound of steps within the surrounding forest. Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up slowly, looking about. Two silhouettes formed within the darkness and she smiled. "Finally! You guys took too long! I was almost asleep--"

She stopped mid sentence as the figures emerged and she realized the truth of them.

They were strangers. Fierce looking ones.

There was a tall, murderous-looking man on the right, who looked to be a whopping eight feet. The girl, who was significantly smaller, on the left, crossed her arms. She had black hair, pulled tightly back in a netted bun, a long tail hanging from it. A black kunai was tied at the end. She wore a confident smirk, her eyes glittering gold in the sun's light, two grey stripes trailing down from the corners of her eyes to below her ears, stopping at her jawline. Her nose was pierced, bearing a little black stud. Her lips were a shocking red, curled deviously.

The man had a protruding brow line and a long forehead, with spikey red-brown hair and two grey-blue stripes trailing down from his hairline. A small ponytail protruded from the back of his head, tied with a little black ribbon. His eyes were slitted, his features jagged and rough. His ears were peculiarly pointed, a little gold bell hanging from the left. He snarled, bearing his own fangs.

Sakura's heart almost stopped. Who were these people? Why were they so scary-looking?

"So, there are some young trainees at work on this fine day..." The woman said, tapping her index finger against her jaw, smiling. "You look scared, darling. What's the matter?" Her voice lied, and though her words were kind, Sakura instantly read the trick edge.

She tensed, prepared to run for it, though she found she couldn't move. Instead, she stared, wide-eyed.

"Hm, can't speak, can you? Well, what a shame. Though, I supposed Yashiro informed us not to chat. Isn't that what he said, Kuuma?" She turned to her tall horrific companion. He nodded solemnly.

"Ah, well, Yashiro ruins everything, he does."

"Sezumi shouldn't speak so." He said, with an alarmingly deep voice, which was slow and almost sad.

"Yes, I suppose." The woman said, irked. "Well, she doesn't look like _that_ much of a challenge, really. I reckon we could take her now."

Sakura's heart skipped a few beats, if not refused to circulate all together.

The man nodded.

"Well, remember that, you big oaf." The woman said, patting the large man's arm. She winked at Sakura and smiled. "Sorry, dearest, but we've got to go. It was a nice meeting!"

With that, the two were gone in a flash, leaving Sakura to stare at their former location, still stunned with fear. What had happened? What did they want?

She staggered backwards a bit, her eyes trembling with fright as her shaken heart beat raggedly. She then took off the other other direction, running as far away from that place as she could, tears of fear stinging her painfully dry eyes.

* * *

Rei looked towards Kiba, who was reclining against a nearby tree. His head was propped upon his arms as he stretched out, shoeless and jacketless. He turned the encounter's purpose over in his head, still left without a reasonable conclusion. She'd taken him to a secret hideout of hers, to escape the possible danger of that man. It was a sort of oasis within the thick wood, consisting of a peaceful little pond clearing, where birds nested and foxes and rabbits dined and slept without fear. Akamaru curled up upon the boy's stomach, deciding to rest a bit.

"What did he want with us?" Kiba asked suddenly, breaking the hynoptic tranquility of the peaceful setting. She took a seat beside him and sighed.

"Don't know." She said honestly. The man was just as mysterious to her as he was to Kiba. She couldn't assume anything.

Kiba's brow scrunched together again as he brooded. "He knew so much. Hit everything right on the head. But he doesn't know us."

"Right."

"How can--?"

"There are ways."

He pondered her words for a moment. "You're right. There are ways. But--"

"Stop worrying. If he comes back, we'll kick his ass. If he doesn't, then we don't have anything to freak about."

He took a deep breath.

"Good logic."

"It's gotten me _this_ far." She grinned at him, stretching her arms widely and leaning back upon the grass. She promtply yawned, and he eyed her fangs once more. She looked up towards the trees, smiling at the serenity of her favorite place.

_'Well, maybe she is as cute Hinata.'_ He decided, averting his eyes to a flower that sprouted at the edge of the pond.

* * *

_Yeah, so, I didn't really like this particular chapter, only because it didn't have that much to entertain. Except Rei. Who will get better as the story goes, I promise. Her and Kiba's relationship is cute, since they argue a lot, and she teases him. She also befriends Akamaru too, and becomes a dear friend to 'flea boy'. xD_

_So, these strangers are the general villains in the story. I'm still coming up with their whole role within the story, and they won't come up significantly, until, like, chapters from now. So don't expect much of them in neighboring chaps._

_I'll just cut to the chase, and get down with reviews. x3_

_**Kearu Soyokaze -** No, no it's not. xD_

_**PrincessChii -** Thank you! xD Much will happen next. x333_

_**xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx - **I thought we'd all get a kick out of drunken ShikaIno. xD And NaruHina. And KibaRei. xDDD I'm so ambitious. Yes, yes, much more SasuSaku to come. Promise._


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